Former Lab Members and Interns

Angela Arrington

Angela is a summer scholar with the Oregon Sea Grant program working with  OCOIN, Oregon's Coastal and Ocean Information Network,  this summer.  The Portland native received her B.S. in Environmental Science from Portland State University and will pursue a masters in public administration with a focus on natural resource management in the fall at the University of Oregon. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest has shown her the beauty and importance of many different ecosystems and why they need protection. She hopes to one day use science and policy to create an inclusive conservation plan for natural areas and resources. In her spare time she likes kayaking, hiking, gardening, and playing with her dogs. 

Emily Cook

Emily Cook is a 2020 Summer Scholar with the Oregon Coastal and Information Network (OCOIN).  She lives on the Palouse in Eastern Washington where she is attending the University of Idaho towards a degree in Natural Resources Planning and Management.  Her passion for the outdoors is something she hopes to translate into a career working through outreach and education to show people the importance of caring for the world around them.  Over the summer she hopes to learn more about leadership, professional communication, and project management.  In her free time, she enjoys backpacking, traveling, swing dancing, board games, and reading.  

Jenna Livingston

Jenna is a summer scholar with Oregon Sea Grant largely working with the Oregon Coastal and Oceanic Information Network (OCOIN). She lives in Southern Arizona and attends the University of Arizona, working on her B.S. in Environmental Engineering and minoring in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics. Over the summer, she hopes to develop leadership and communication skills that will one day aid in her pursuit of a federal government position. Her hobbies include reading and writing fantasy novels, dancing, and watching movies.

Brontë McKinnis

Brontë McKinnis interned in the ACE lab the summer before her senior year of high school, through the Saturday Academy Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering program. She will be getting her BS in Chemical Engineering at Oregon State University and hopes to apply this background to a graduate degree that focuses on combining oceanography and chemical engineering research. In high school, one of her favorite classes was computer science and she worked with a team to develop an agent-based simulation of humpback whale feeding. She is the leader of her school's environmental club and hopes to continue working on environmental issues in the future. Her favorite aquatic animal is the orca. 

Dorothy Horn, PhD Student

Thesis Title: Effects of Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Microplastic Fibers on Pacific Mole Crab (Emerita analoga) Mortality and Reproduction
Dorothy is a California native and after serving in the United States Marine Corps she chose to pursue her love of the ocean by studying our beach ecology systems.  She completed her B.S. at Cal State University Channel Islands in Environmental Science and Resource Management. Her current research focus is on the sentinel organism we all know as the Sand crab.  She has found the existence of microfibers and plastic particles in the diets of sand crabs and is continuing to study the range and effects of anthropogenic pollution on these organisms. Her continued work as a PhD student in the Granek lab at Portland State will investigate the effects of microplastic in the organisms along the coast of Oregon. 
Publication

Paul Hurst

Paul grew up in Spokane, WA, where he was able to spend a healthy amount of time outside. Paul attended Gonzaga University in Spokane where he received a BA in biology and a BA in environmental studies. Paul took part in the undergraduate research program at Gonzaga, beginning his studies on seasonal trends in anthropogenic fiber densities along the Spokane River. Coming to Portland State University to work on a PhD, Paul intends to continue studying microplastics and anthropogenic fibers present in local river and estuary ecosystems.  

José  Aparicio-Castillo

José Aparicio-Castillo (José Castillo) is a first-year Master of Science (MS) student who is going to be studying the effects of microplastics in Oregon Pink Shrimp. José graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2021 with a B.S. in environmental science and a concentration in conservation. During his time there, he conducted an undergraduate research project on microplastics in dog food. It was from that project that he wanted to continue his learning on microplastics and plastic pollution. Outside of research and school, José enjoys being outside, going to the gym, or reading anything sci-fi related.