top of page
University of Rhode Island
WGEL
Meet the Undergraduate Students
Suraiya Hamidzada
Undergraduate Research Assistant/former Coastal Fellow
I'm currently a senior attending the University of Rhode Island, working to complete a double major in Biological Sciences and Anthropology. I originally joined the Wildlife Genetics and Ecology Lab as part of the College of Environment and Life Sciences Coastal Fellowship program and am continuing on as an intern. My Coastal Fellowship project aims to document the genetic distribution of the Eastern Cottontail rabbit to identify any geographic differentiation and understand how their population dynamics have changed through time. In the lab I work to extract DNA from samples, do PCR testing, run electrophoresis gels as well as work with relevant databases.
Angela Nolan
Undergraduate Research Assistant/former Coastal Fellow
I am a sophomore majoring in biotechnology at URI. I was able to join the WGEL lab as a part of the College of Environment and Life Sciences Coastal and Environmental Fellowship program. For my summer project I am looking at the distribution of the Eastern Cottontail-an introduced species over multiple years in various states and see how they are impacting the population of the New England cottontail by using computer programs such as Geneious Prime to analyze their DNA sequences and identify the species. In the lab I do DNA extractions from fecal samples, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and PCR cleanups. I am very excited to continue my work through the fall semester and present my findings later this year!
Nor Kattan
Undergraduate Research Assistant
I'm a Wildlife and Conservation Biology major at URI. I've always been passionate about wildlife so working here at WGEL has been very fulfilling for me. My specific interests are in entomology and herpetology. I also have lots of hobbies like hiking, painting, reading and gaming. I have been enjoying my time learning and working in the WGEL lab, thanks to Dr. Beltran, Dr. McGreevy and my coworkers.
Alex Jardin
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Bio
Zak Sutton
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Bio
Brittany Hanley
Coastal and Environmental Fellow
I'm a senior majoring in Wildlife and Conservation Biology at URI. I was able to join WGEL as a research assistant before being accepted as a Coastal and Environmental Fellow in the College of Environment and Life Sciences for 2023. My Fellowship research focuses on the haplotype distribution and genetic diversity of the New England cottontail in 2020 and 2022. In my free time I enjoy writing, drawing, seeing live music, and spending time outdoors, and I have a particular interest in mammals, reptiles, and endangered species conservation. At the lab I extract DNA from fecal and tissue samples, do PCR testing, run electrophoresis gels, and do PCR cleanups, as well as analyze DNA sequences through programs like Geneious Prime and RStudio. I'm looking forward to continuing my research on haplotype distribution and genetic diversity of the New England cottontail in previous years to get a bigger picture of the genetic trends in the overall population.
Corinne DeAngelis
Coastal and Environmental Fellow
I am a junior majoring in Wildlife and Conservation Biology at URI. I am a Coastal and Environmental fellow working with the New England Cottontail. My research consists of testing the efficacy of using Artificial Intelligence to recognize wildlife in trail camera footage on Patience Island, RI. I also assist in identifying specific wildlife caught on the trail cameras.
Former Undergraduate Students
- Annalisa Sharkey (2013-2014)
- Jessica Mack (2013-2014)
- Katelyn Belleville (2014)
- Kirstin Fagan (2014-2017)
- Wendy Finn (2015)
- Megan Rudkin (2015)
- Julie Burns (2015-2017)
- Lesley Howard (2017)
- Jin Kulsic (2018)
- Nicole Wowaka (2018)
- Maggie Bourdon (2018)
- Noah Gilbert (2018-2019)
- Nicole Pelletier (2019)
- Kira Colvin (2018-2019)
- Andrew Kiousis (2018-2019)
- Allison Gallagher
- Suraiya Hamidzada (2021-2022)
​
​
​
- Troy Langknecht (2018)
- Ian O'Hara (2018)
- Krista Noe (2018-2019)
- Allison Gallagher (2019)
- Brooke Dodge (2021-2023)
- Anna Sorgie (2022-2023)
​
bottom of page