Faculty & Staff


Ana “Mindy” Morales, PhD

Associate Professor, Rubenstein School

ana.morales@uvm.edu

C.V.

I'm a limnologist specializing in phycology and biogeochemistry. My research interests include phytoplankton community ecology, cyanobacteria bloom dynamics, land-water linkages, and effects of eutrophication on carbon cycling in lake ecosystems. I investigate how fine scale physiological and ecological mechanisms feedback to drive ecosystem and landscape scale processes.

Anila P. Ajayan, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher, Rubenstein School

anila.ajayan@uvm.edu

I graduated from the University of Kerala from the Department of Botany, India. I am interested in learning trait-based phytoplankton community ecology. I am more interested in understanding:  1) How does trait diversity mediate the effect of anthropogenic/ climatic stressors on ecosystem function? 2) What is the effect of phenotypic plasticity on ecosystem function? 3)How do traits interact between the trophic levels? At UVM, I will be interested in understanding the phytoplankton phenology in response to warming winter conditions in experimental mesocosms and small lakes. 

Personally, I am a cheerful, optimistic, and eco-friendly person. Interested in freshwater biomonitoring and biodiversity conservation.

Carl Betz

Laboratory Manager

carl.betz@uvm.edu

Carl completed a B.S. In Environmental Science at the University of Vermont in 2021 and an M.S. in Environmental Chemistry & Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2025. Before joining the Vermont Limnology Lab, he also worked as a seasonal analyst at the Vermont Agriculture and Environmental Laboratory. Carl's professional interests include environmental analytical chemistry, aquatic biogeochemistry, contaminant hydrogeology, and science communication.

Ben Kelley

Data technician

benjamin.kelley@uvm.edu

Ben (he/him) graduated from the University of Rochester in 2023 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. After undergrad, he worked as the data manager for the Finger Lakes Institute, a non-profit conducting water quality research in the Finger Lakes of central New York, as the data manager where he specialized in using the R ecosystem to perform statistical analysis of large water quality datasets.

Atlas Cooper

Field & Lab Technician

atlas.cooper@uvm.edu

Atlas graduated from UVM RSENR with their BS degree in Wildlife Biology in 2025. They have interests in herpetology and aquatic biology. Atlas is currently assisting with Anila Ajayan's mesocosm research investigating effects of warming winters on lake ecosystem function, and additional help around the lab. They are most interested in how changing ecosystem dynamics cause unique biology.


 

Students


 

Rachel Cray

PhD Student, Rubenstein School rachel.cray@uvm.edu

Rachel graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a Master's degree in Biology in 2021, where she researched algal physiological changes in response to oxidative stress. Additionally, she has also previously worked at the Marine Biological Laboratory developing advanced microscopy techniques. Her current research interests involve the intersection of algal community ecology and biogeochemistry.

 

Edouard Rugema

PhD Student, Rubenstein School

edouard.rugema@uvm.edu

Edouard graduated from the University of Rwanda in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in applied Biology. He graduated also from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 2017 with a master’s degree in marine and Lacustrine Science and Management where he researched on changes in phytoplankton community structure in relation to limnological parameters in Lake Kivu. His current research focuses on investigations between phytoplankton community stability and ecosystem function in Lake Champlain.

 

Kelsey Colbert

MSc Student, Rubenstein School

kelsey.colbert@uvm.edu

Kelsey graduated from the University of Vermont in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science in the Rubenstein School.  After a few years out west from Wyoming and Alaska to New Zealand, Kelsey is back in Vermont working for the Lake Champlain Basin Program on the Lake Champlain Long Term Monitoring Program.  Kelsey’s current research in the Vermont Limnology Lab has a focus on phytoplankton and forecasting algae blooms using remote sensing and satellite data in Lake Champlain.

Jo Delahunt

Accelerated Msc Student, Rubenstein School

jo.delahunt@uvm.edu

Jo is an accelerated MS student finishing their BS in Fisheries Biology. Their current interests in research are algal bloom dynamics, phenology, and lake carbon cycling.  Overall, they’re passionate about aquatic ecology and art!

Eva Hendrickson

MSc Student, Rubenstein School

 
 

Audrey Manning

BS Student, Rubenstein School WFB

audrey.manning@uvm.edu

Audrey Manning is a Bachelor of Science student working towards a degree in Fisheries Biology with an interest in marine fisheries. Audrey is currently working with PhD student Edouard Rugema on his project involving phytoplankton community stability and ecosystem function in Lake Champlain. 

Bo Barile

BS Student, Rubenstein School WFB

bbarile1@uvm.edu

Bo Barile is a B.Sc. undergrad at the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. She works with both the Vermont Limnology Lab and the Fisheries Lab at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory. Bo is majoring in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology with a focus on fisheries and minoring in Geospatial Technologies. Their research interests include benthic ecology in both freshwater and marine environments.

Memrie Harness

BS Student, Rubenstein School ENSC, Perennial Intern

memrie.harness@uvm.edu

Hi I’m Memrie! I am earning my Bachelors of Science degree in the Rubenstein School studying Environmental Science with a concentration in Conservation Biology and a minor in Microbiology. I am currently working with Dr. Mindy Morales on a project that involves the documentation of long-term algal response to climate change/anthropogenic disturbances through phytoplankton herbarium slides. I am interested in studying the phenology of Lake Champlain and Vermont’s inland lakes. 

Fletcher Gordon

BS Student, Rubenstein School WFB

kegordon@uvm.edu

Fletcher Gordon is pursuing his Bachelor's of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology at UVM, and is currently working under Jo Delahunt with phytoplankton and algal blooms in Shelburne Pond. He is a native Virginian who is passionate about art, adventure, and ecology! 

Elliot Dillon

BS Student, Rubenstein School ENSC

Elliot.Dillon@uvm.edu

Elliot Dillon is a Bachelor of Science student in the Rubenstein School. She is working towards an Environmental Science degree with a concentration in Global Environment and Climate and a minor in Geosciences. Elliot is currently assisting Carl Betz with water chemistry analysis of Vermont lakes. She has interests in water quality, biogeochemical cycling, and aquatic ecosystems

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Former Graduate Students

Maria Alfaro, M.Sc. 2025, Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton and nitrogen fixation in artificially aerated Lake Carmi, Vermont

Katelynn Warner, Ph.D. 2024, Assessing drivers of Cyanobacteria blooms, toxin production, and response to climatic extremes in Lake Champlain

Ismar Biberovic, M.Sc. 2023, Paleolimnological data synthesis to assess long-term change in Vermont lakes

Sydney Diamond, M.Sc. 2021, Assessing chemical and biological recovery from acid rain deposition in montane Vermont lakes

 

Former Undergraduate Research Students

Jeremy Howland

Lianne Parmalee

Mackenzie Michaels

Nisha Nadkarni

Sarah Lindner

Ismar Biberovic

Sarah Wasserman

Megan Petrine

Lindsey VanFossen

Hannah Randall

Lexi Zagarola

Marg Polifrone

Alex Bernich

Rachael Dochinger

Max Schibel

MIRIAM Rose

Morgan Doersch

Emma Polhemus

Ollie Leibovich