Biography

I completed my B.Sc. (1998) and M.Sc. (2002) at Montana State University, surrounded
by wild spaces and trout. While Montana cultivated a keen interest in ecology, my
experiences studying bison population dynamics motivated me to build a broader
quantitative background. I migrated north to the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the
University of Alberta, Canada, where I completed my Ph.D. (2008). As a postdoctoral
fellow and research assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame, my workgroup
developed the first environmental DNA surveillance program for fish. I have been a
Research Scientist at the Marine Science Institute since 2016, and in 2022, I became a
lecturer of Data Science, Statistics, and Applied Population Ecology for the Bren
School. In 2024, I received the School’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Research

As a researcher, I wear many professional hats: data scientist, statistician, and
freshwater ecologist. My projects focus on finding solutions to pressing environmental
problems. This includes current research initiatives applying new sampling approaches
to quantify plastic pollution, uncovering freshwater biodiversity with environmental DNA,
and improving statistical approaches for natural resource management.