Graduate students interested in research collaborations should contact me at mmendez@wcs.org.

Dr.Solange Fermepin (addl. MA student, current)

After graduating in Physics, Solange completed her PhD in Environmental Sciences at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI), focusing on global climate modeling and climate change, and later trained in regional climate modeling at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) at New Caledonia. Solange is deeply interested in nature conservation and global conservation science, so to complement and advance her knowledge, she enrolled in the Masters Program and a Professional Certificate in Biodiversity Conservation at the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. She is about to complete her graduating Masters' thesis, in which she explores global marine biodiversity patterns and processes relevant for conservation priorities.

Dr.Francine Kershaw (PhD student, graduated)

For her PhD Francine was interested in developing methodologies that integrate behavioral, environmental, and genetic data to quantify the ecological processes underlying evolutionary patterns. She was also interested in how this information can be applied within the policy arena to develop effective mechanisms for conservation and management. She successfully completed her Doctoral Dissertation at the Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Department, Columbia University, where I have served as a member in her Dissertation Committee for her research on humpback whale conservation genetics. Francine has engaged in "side projects" outside the marine domain to fullfil her varied interests - one such example is her research on niche modeling of yellow anacondas, which she first authored as a paper in Diversity and Distributions . Francine is now at Natural Resources Defense Council, NRDC.

Dr.Evan McCartney-Melstad (MA student, graduated)

For his Masters' Evan was interested in the use of molecular approaches to conservation at different organizational and spatial levels. He successfully completed his Masters Thesis on Yellow Anaconda Conservation Genetics under my supervision at the Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Department, Columbia University, and first-authored an associated publication with a group of collaborators and myself in PLoS ONE . Evan completed his PhD and postdoc at UCLA.

Nathan Fedrizzi (MA student, graduated)

For his Masters' Nathan was interested in seahorse conservation and successfully completed his Master's Thesis on population structure of Florida Seahorse populations under my supervision at the Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Department, Columbia University.

 

Photo: Samborombon Bay, Buenos Aires, Argentina (© Martin Mendez)