Research Mentorship

Undergraduate Mentee Independent Research Projects

pond on a sunny day surrounded by vegetation

hand folding a rack of falcon tubes outside

Optimizing two different water filtration techniques for environmental DNA detection of frog-killing pathogen

  • Emily Nix - Senior Thesis
  • UC Santa Barbara 2024
  • UCSB Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Fellow

Investigating the Roles of Amphipods, a Pond-Dwelling Invertebrate, and Water Temperature in Amphibian Disease

  • Jasmine Tesoro - Senior Thesis
  • UC Santa Barbara 2024
  • UCSB Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Fellow

pacific chorus frog in the water calling

western toad sitting in the mud

Investigation of Water Storage and Filtration Methods on eDNA Detection of Bd in Water

  • Elizabeth Bodenhamer - Senior Thesis
  • UC Santa Barbara 2023
  • UCSB Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Fellow

The Effects of Soil Storage Method and Duration on Detection of Bd eDNA in Soil

  • Kathryn Koo - Senior Thesis
  • UC Santa Barbara 2023
  • UCSB Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Fellow

aquatic bug (common name: backswimmer) popping its head out of a falcon tube

aquatic bug (common name: damselfly larva) in a tube

Determination of Traits That Predict the Ability of Invertebrates to Host and Transmit Bd

  • Rachel Leowy - Senior Thesis
  • UC Santa Barbara 2023
  • UCSB Worster Fellow & UCSB Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Fellow

Exploration of Bd Loads in Internal Macroinvertebrate Tissues Across Taxa

  • Sammi Yeung - Senior Thesis
  • UC Santa Barbara 2023

microscope image of a daphnia colored by florescent tagged Bd

wetland in western Pennsylvania with algae topped water and trees

Assessing the impact of elevated temperatures associated with urbanization on Bd consumption by Daphnia

  • Nuzha Baksh - Senior Thesis
  • UC Santa Barbara 2022
  • UCSB Schmidt Fellow & UCSB Gene & Susan Lucas Fellow

eDNA Analysis of Bd Presence and Prevalence Across Seasonal and Temperature Variation

  • Miranda Kosowsky - Senior Thesis
  • University of Pittsburgh 2021

red poison dart frog

spider on a white backgrount

Color Analysis of Strawberry Poison Dart Frog, Oophaga Pumilio

  • Madeline Bush - Internship Project
  • University of Pittsburgh 2021

Eye Size Reflects Habitat and Sex in Tarantulas

  • Lily Turri - AP Biology Capstone
  • Allderdice High School 2021
  • Principal Mentor: Dr. Sebastian Echeverri
  • Image credit: S. Echeverri

Mentees

Current Mentees:

Previous Mentees:

  • Emily Nix - UC Santa Barbara 2023 - 2024
  • Jasmine Tesoro - UC Santa Barbara 2023 - 2024
  • Elizabeth Bodenhamer- UC Santa Barbara 2022 - 2024
  • Hope Hahn - UC Santa Barbara 2022 - Present
  • Sammi Yeung - UC Santa Barbara 2022 - 2023
  • Kathryn Koo - UC Santa Barbara 2022 - 2023
  • Rachel Leowy - UC Santa Barbara 2022 - 2023
  • Nuzha Baksh - UC Santa Barbara 2021 - 2022
  • Leann Hagen - UC Santa Barbara Fall 2021
  • Sarah Boyle - UC Santa Barbara Summer 2021
  • Lily Turri - University of Pittsburgh 2020 - 2021
  • Madeline Bush - University of Pittsburgh 2020 - 2021
  • Anna Meinzen - University of Pittsburgh 2020 - 2021
  • Miranda Kosowsky - University of Pittsburgh 2020 - 2021
  • Joshua Hickman - University of Pittsburgh 2019 - 2020

Mentee Presentations

  • May 2024 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Conference Panel: “A look into fungal pathogen Bd: Time series and location” J. Tesoro, C.L. Nordheim, and C.J. Briggs.

  • May 2024 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Conference Panel: “Optimizing two different water filtration techniques for eDNA detection of frog-killing pathogen” E. Nix, K. Koo, R.Chen C.L. Nordheim, and C.J. Briggs.

  • April 2024 UC Santa Barbara Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Undergraduate Research Conference: “Beneath the Surface: Investigating Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Disease Shedding Rates of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) Across Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Populations” O. Schroeder, J. Ellman, E. Howell, C.L. Nordheim, and C.J. Briggs.

  • April 2024 UC Santa Barbara Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Undergraduate Research Conference: “Optimizing two different water filtration techniques for environmental DNA detection of frog-killing pathogen” E. Nix, K. Koo, R.Chen C.L. Nordheim, and C.J. Briggs.

  • April 2024 UC Santa Barbara Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Undergraduate Research Conference: “A look into fungal pathogen Bd: Time series and location” J. Tesoro, C.L. Nordheim, and C.J. Briggs.

  • May 2023 UC Santa Barbara Worster Symposium: “Elucidating the roles of aquatic invertebrates in amphibian pathogen dynamics” R. Loewy, C.L. Nordheim, and C.J. Briggs.

  • May 2023 UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Conference Panel: “Investigation into the effects of storage method and duration on detection of pathogenic Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) environmental DNA (eDNA)” K.Koo, C.L. Nordheim, T.S. Katz, R. Chen, and C.J. Briggs.

  • May 2023 UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Poster Colloquim: “The Effects of Storage and Filtration Methods on eDNA Detection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Water” E. Bodenhamer, C.L. Nordheim, T.S. Katz and C.J. Briggs.

  • May 2023 UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Poster Colloquim: “Elucidating the Ability of Invertebrates to Host and Shed Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd)” R. Loewy, C.L. Nordheim, and C.J. Briggs.

  • April 2023 UC Santa Barbara Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Undergraduate Research Conference: “The Effects of Storage and Filtration Methods on eDNA Detection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Water” E. Bodenhamer, C.L. Nordheim, T.S. Katz and C.J. Briggs.

  • April 2023 UC Santa Barbara Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Undergraduate Research Conference: “Investigation into the effects of storage method and duration on detection of pathogenic Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) environmental DNA (eDNA)” K.Koo, C.L. Nordheim, T.S. Katz, R. Chen, and C.J. Briggs.

  • April 2023 UC Santa Barbara Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Undergraduate Research Conference: “Macroinvertebrates as Potential Bd Reservoirs” S. Yeung, C.L. Nordheim, and C.J. Briggs.

  • April 2022 UC Santa Barbara Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Undergraduate Research Conference: “Effects of elevated temperatures associated with urbanization on the Bd-zoospore grazing ability of Daphnia magna” N.N. Baksh, C.L. Nordheim, and C.J. Briggs.

  • July 2021 American Arachnological Society Meeting: “Eye Size Reflects Habitat and Sex in Tarantulas” L.E.Turri, C.L. Nordheim, S. Foley, and S.A. Echeverri. Link to talk on YouTube

Mentee Research Fellowships