Peter Marko, Professor

PhD (1997) , Population Biology Graduate Program, University of California, Davis

Peter's research combines population genetics, phylogeography, and, more recently, environmental DNA to understand how marine species disperse and persist across the tropical North Pacific and Hawaiian Islands. Over the past decade his lab has published on fundamental questions of marine connectivity and biogeographic breaks, building on large comparative datasets to relate species traits and demographic history to patterns of genetic structure in the sea.  Recent student-led projects have focused on testing eDNA as a faster, field-ready tool for coral reef biodiversity monitoring and for early detection of nuisance or invasive macroalgae, including work in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Google Scholar

Taylor Ely, Graduate Student

PhD (2026, expected), Zoology Graduate Program, University of Hawaii at Manoa 

Taylor's research focuses on studying and testing community-wide population genetics methods with environmental DNA. She is combining population genetic analyses with computer simulations of larval dispersal to understand connectivity among places in the north central Pacific. 

Google Scholar

Cécile Vimond

MS (2025), Zoology Graduate Program (2025), University of Hawaii at Manoa

Cecile's work used environmental DNA to study the diversity and distributions of shallow-water agaricid corals in the Hawaiian Islands. Cecile is now all about seahorses and working on a PhD in Andy Rominger's lab at UH Manoa.

Patrick Nichols

MS (2019), Marine Biology Graduate Program  and PhD (2025), Zoology Graduate Program, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Patrick studied spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity on coral reefs with environmental DNA and developed molecular bio-surveillance methods for nuisance algal species. After defending his dissertation in 2025 he started a postdoc in Stefan Prost's lab at the University of Oulu, Finland. 

 Google Scholar

Claire Lewis

PhD, Zoology Graduate Program (2025), University of Hawaii at Manoa

Claire's dissertation focused on the evolution, ecology, and morphology of corals. Her work includes experimental manipulation of growth patterns in Pavona varians and molecular phylogenomic analysis of agaricids in the north central Pacific. 

Jessica Schaefer

MS, Zoology Graduate Program (2019), University of Hawaii at Manoa

Jessica studied the mating system of the pair-forming hermaphroditic pulmonate limpet Siphonaria gigas in Panama. She is currently finishing her PhD in Gail Patricelli's lab at the University of California, Davis. 

Bailey Carlson 

As an undergraduate at UH Manoa, Bailey led the data collection for a population genomics study of the rock-boring sea urchin, Echinometra mathaei.  Bailey recently finished a PhD at UC Merced and is now a faculty member at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Sergio Marchant

PhD, Biological Sciences (2014), Clemson University

Sergio worked on the molecular phylogeography of antitropical marine species as a model for testing ideas about the tropics as a source of evolutionary novelty and diversity.  Currently a faculty member at the Industrial University of  Santander, Colombia.

Google Scholar

Holly Nance

PhD, Biological Sciences (2010), Clemson University

Holly worked on the population genetics and demography of scalloped hammerhead sharks in the eastern Pacific.  She is currently an Associate Professor at eh College of Coastal Georgia.

Nicole Cox

MS, Biological Sciences (2013), Clemson University

Nicole's  MS thesis focused on amphi-Pacific phylogeography and speciation in the rocky shore snail Nucella lima.  

Yale Passamaneck

Postdoc at UH who worked on the evolution of egg size in Hydroides, now a biologist for the Bureau of Reclamation in Denver, CO.

Louis Plough

Postdoc work in our lab at Clemson included paternity analysis and population genomics of gooseneck barnacles using microsatellites and RADseq technology.  Louis is now a faculty member at Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland.

Tammy McGovern

Tammy was a postdoc in the lab at Clemson, working on the phylogeography of marine invertebrate species on the West Coast of North America. 

Martha Newel

Martha studied the population genomics of corals, moved on to  a Knauss Fellowship in DC, and a career as a natural resource policy specialist.

Jake Buehler

Former MS student now working as a freelance science writer.

Felicia Hawthorne

Human genetics and genomics.  Worked as Howard Hughes funded undergrad in our lab in Clemson on the population genetics of commercially harvested bay scallops in North Carolina.  After completing a PhD at Duke, she started a career with Illumina.    

Kelly Barr

Population structure and conservation genetics of terrestrial vertebrates.  Kelly had two stints as a Marko Lab technician and manager. He's now a faculty member at Cal State Monterery Bay. 

Dan Rodriguez

Former lab technician, driver, and navigator. 

Corey Holbert

Former lab technician, works at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences. 

Alice Dennis

Undergraduate researcher, now a faculty member at the University of Namur.