Gulf eDNA Network
Mapping Species across the Gulf
Meet the Team
Leadership
Yasmina Shah Esmaeili
Yasmina is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Her research focuses on community ecology, using eDNA as a tool to investigate how human and environmental impacts are shaping the biodiversity of coastal ecosystems.
Jordan Casey
Jordan is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. She studies marine trophic interactions with molecular techniques. Along the Texas Gulf Coast, she uses eDNA to investigate biodiversity patterns and reconstruct food webs.
Sheila Kitchen
Sheila is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Her research focuses on symbiotic partnerships on and in coral reef ecosystems where she is using eDNA to capture the diversity of reef inhabitants.
Research & Design Team
Ingrid Bunholi
Research Team
Ingrid is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. Her research uses molecular tools to understand fish diversity from the organismal to the community level, focusing on population genetics, eDNA, and biogeography.
Lance David Malcolm Jr.
Research Team
David is a research technician at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. He uses eDNA molecular techniques to study fish and plankton communities of the southern Texas coast. He is excited by interdisciplinary questions of trophic ecology, habitat use, and environmental change.
Marissa Kordal
Research Team
Marissa is a Master’s student at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. She is studying oyster reefs along the Texas Gulf Coast. Using environmental DNA she is evaluating the functioning of oyster reefs through biodiversity assessments and parasite monitoring.
Jaelyn Rodriguez
Research Team, Design Team
Jaelyn is a rising junior at Texas A&M University at Galveston, majoring in Oceans and One Health. In preparation for her masters program at UTMB Galveston, she is working under Dr. Sheila Kitchen to study Cassiopea metamorphosis and learn molecular techniques.
Nick Versfelt
Research Team
Nick is a senior at Texas A&M Galveston majoring in Marine Biology. To prepare for Graduate school research thesis on infectious diseases in stony corals, he is working under Dr. Esmaeili and Dr. Kitchen to build on his eDNA experience.
Gulf eDNA Network 