Lab Members
Dr. Yina Liu (PI)
Assistant Professor of Oceanography
Analytical Chemistry Research and Development Team Lead at the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG)
Dr. Michael Shields
Assistant Research Scientist
Education Development Lead at the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG)
Current Graduate Students
Xiaolei Xu
Xiaolei is a Ph.D. student (started Fall 2021) in the Oceanography Graduate Program. Xiaolei's program focuses on understanding the molecular-level cycling of marine organic carbon.
Yaseen Zaky
Yaseenis is a Ph.D. student (started Fall 2023) in the Oceanography Graduate Program. Yaseen's work focuses on understanding PFAS mobilization in the environment and their concentrations and distributions in marine organisms.
Samantha McClain
Sam is a Ph.D. student (started Fall 2021) in the Oceanography Graduate Program. Her work focuses on carbonate chemistry and organic contaminants in coral reefs.
Rogelio Quintanilla Carares
Rogelio is a Ph.D. student (started Fall 2024) in the Oceanography Graduate Program.
Current Undergraduate Students
Kenzie Anderson
Kenzie is a student worker majoring in Biology at TAMU.
Bree Cauthon-Gunn
Bree is a student worker and OCNG 491 researcher working in the Halo-Carbon lab. Bree is majoring in Enviromental Studies at TAMU.
Cameron Stacey
Cameron is a student worker and OCNG 491 researcher working in the Halo-Carbon lab. Cameron is majoring in Enviromental Studies at TAMU.
Past Graduate Students
Matthew Varas (Co-Chair): Oceanography MOST program.
Garrett Walsh (Co-Chair): Thesis Title "Anthropogenic Halogenated Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Galveston Bay, TX."
Sangeetha Puthigai (Chair): Thesis Title "The Forever Compounds,” Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances in Marine Animals and Birds."
Past Post-Docs
Dr. Bumsoo Kim: Now at Brown University.
Past Undergraduate Students
Emma Scott-Wellman (Oceanography major)
Cameron Jeter (Student worker 2020 to 2023)
Brittney Breazeale (Senior Thesis Undergraduate Researcher): Brittney is an Oceanography major. She will be working with us on the "Forever Chemicals" (per and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in fish and in the marine ecosystem.
Yesenia Martinez (Student Worker Fall 2021 to Fall 2023): Yesenia is a student worker majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering at TAMU.
Iris Parke (REU 2022 Student from Marymount Manhattan College): Iris is a 2022 REU researcher in our lab. Her project focused on understanding the carbon preservation mechanism in peat ecosystems.
Brittany Pan (REU 2022 student from Harvey Mudd College): Brittany is a 2022 REU researcher in our lab. Her project focused on understanding the environmental mobility of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Catherine (Cat) Odendahl (REU 2021 student from the University of Connecticut): Cat is a 2021 REU Researcher in our lab. Her project was the classification of tarball based on their chemical fingerprints and similarity algorithms.
Katrina Mason (REU 2021 student from the University of Oklahoma): Katrina is a 2021 REU Researcher in our lab. She examined the distribution of PFAS in Galveston Bay.
Sammy Tobeh (Student Worker Summer 2021): Sammy is a Biomedical Engineering student from TAMU.
David Gonzales (TAMU 2018 REU Researcher and Student Technician in 2021): David was a Chemistry student from PACE University, New York. We were fortunate to have him in Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic when he stayed closer to home. In our lab, we find many silver linings like this during this difficult time! David is now heading to UCSD to pursue his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry.
Santiago Canel Soria '21 (TAMU Spring 2021 Research Student, TAMU LAUNCH Undergraduate Researcher, and SeaGrant Scholar)
Lane Evers '20 (TAMU Fall 2020 Research Student; now a graduate student in Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi): Lane's undergraduate research project in our lab was to test extraction methods for PFAS extraction from food matrices. Lane is a member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.
Anneliese Olbrich '21 (TAMU Summer 2020 Research Student): Anneliese's summer research was to understand the occurrence of PFAS in dairy products, a nice change in "scenery" from Oceanography. Anneliese is a member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.
Jillian Coughlin (REU 2019 Student from Pace University): Jill's summer research project was "Understanding the Distribution of PFAS in Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and Their Effect on Fish Tissues."
Ashley Pavia (REU 2018 Student from Marymount Manhattan College): Ashley's summer research project was "Method Development for Simultaneous Extraction of Emerging Pollutants and Dissolved Organic Matter in Seawater."