
Beth Stauffer is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Biology. She has been at UL Lafayette since January 2015 and is enjoying learning about the nearby coastal bays, bayous, and local Cajun culture. Dr. Stauffer is an Early Career Research Fellow with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program, Member-at-Large on the Association for the Sciences of Limnology & Oceanography (ASLO) Board, and member of the Advisory Council for the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). For more information, please see Dr. Stauffer's CV or Google Scholar profile.
Ph.D., Marine Environmental Biology, University of Southern California, 2011
B.S., Marine Science & Biology, University of Miami, 2000
Ph.D., Marine Environmental Biology, University of Southern California, 2011
B.S., Marine Science & Biology, University of Miami, 2000
Research Associate

Jennifer Raabe is a Research Associate and Lab Manager who is coordinating a pilot project funded by NOAA through the Alliance for Coastal Technologies to increase continuous nutrient monitoring across the northern Gulf of Mexico. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2009. In 2018 she received her Master's degree in Biology from the University of North Florida where she studied the vertical distribution of marine invertebrate larvae, and potential spatial competition between native and non-native bivalves, in a well-mixed estuary.
Graduate Students & Research

Andrea Jaegge is a PhD student and ICaWR Doctoral Fellow at UL Lafayette with interest in studying the dynamics of Louisiana’s coastal phytoplankton communities and the related water quality issues in the ecosystem. She received her B.S. from the University of Alabama in 2013 and spent two years working on water quality issues at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC before joining the lab.

Gulce Kurtay is a PhD student in the lab. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Hacettepe University in Turkey and received her Master’s degree in Marine Science from the University of Basque Country. She is interested in the hurricane impacts on phytoplankton dynamics and community composition in the Gulf of Mexico. Gulce also obtained a Master’s of Art degree from the Bilkent University in Biology Education by investigating the educational aspect of ocean biology.

Christin Selle is a Masters student who is co-advised by Dr. Stauffer and Dr. Kelly Robinson. Find out more about Christin's research on the Cajun Plankton lab webpage.

Julia Sweet is a Ph.D. student and University Doctoral Fellow. She received her B.S. in Geography from the University of California in Santa Barbara where she was later hired to work as a Staff Research Associate and Laboratory Manager at the Marine Science Institute. During this time she worked towards a M.Sc degree through the Interdepartmental Program in Marine Science. She has broad research interests relating to biological oceanography and the biological carbon pump, with specific research questions on the consequences of our changing ocean conditions on the base of the marine food web and the source of half our planet’s oxygen — the mighty phytoplankton. Julia loves working at sea, sushi, yoga and dogs.
Undergraduate Researchers

Eric Austin is an undergraduate in the lab.

Bryce Lavergne is a a sophomore majoring in biology.

Teri Lynn Lewis is a senior majoring in environmental sciences. Teri was a participant in the "Healthy Streams, Healthy Coasts" REU program in 2018 and is a McNair Scholar. She is investigating the effects of the 2019 Floods on nearshore water quality and phytoplankton dynamics in our LA estuaries and is actively looking for graduate programs to continue her career after graduation.

Vivian Mire is a a sophomore majoring in biology with a concentration in pre-medicine. She hopes to go on to medical school and become a dermatologist. In her spare time she loves to exercise, read, and hang out with close friends.
Past Lab Members
Graduate Researchers
Jaylyn Babitch (M.S.), 2016-2018 (currently Biologist with City of San Jose) Mrunmayee Pathare (M.S.), 2016-2019 (currently Research Assistant II, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute) REU Students Tallie Foster, Fitchburg State University Rachel Humes, Indiana University Northwest Eliot Pell, Ball State University |
Undergraduate Researchers
Alexander Adams Lauren Broussard Quinnetta Humphries Amber Lauchner (currently M.S. Student, Plymouth State University) April Pruitt Gina Woods (currently Research Assistant, LUMCON) Dalton Laroux Hans Prevost (currently M.S. Student in Fredericq Lab, UL Lafayette) |