About our mentors

Collaborative Research Units

The LAGNiAppE training program is a collaborative initiative led by LSU-based mentors and partner co-mentors from various institutions across Louisiana. Discover more details below.

Mentors

Co-mentors

Leadership Team

Mentors 2024-2025

Dr. Stephen Baca

Aquatic Beetle Diversity and Evolution

BACA LAB

Dr. Jordan Dowell

Evolution of Chemical Diversity and organismal interactions

DOWELL LAB

Dr. Gaurav Kandlikar

Origins, Structure, Maintenance, and Consequences of Diversity

KANDLIKAR LAB

Dr. Christine Lattin

Neurotransmitters, Hormones, Neophobia and Environmental Stress

LATTIN LAB

Dr. Nicholas Mason

Avian Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation

MASON LAB

Dr. Flavia Montano

Dr. Flavia Montaño

Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Montaño lab

Dr. Sydney Moyo

Food Webs, Ecosystem Connections and Conservation

MOYO LAB

Dr. Daniel Powell

Reproductive Barriers and Mechanismis of Sexual Selection

POWELL LAB

Dr. Igor Schneider

Cellular and Molecular Components of Regeneration

SCHNEIDER LAB

Dr. Greg Thom

Bird Speciation in the Tropics

THOM LAB

Past Mentors

Dr. Jeremy Brown
Dr. Maheshi Dassanayake
Dr. Brant Faircloth
Dr. Morgan Kelly
Dr. Laura Lagomarsino

Dr. Christine Lattin
Dr. Nicholas Mason
Dr. Michael Polito
Dr. Igor Schneider
Dr. Patricia Schneider

Dr. Gaurav Kandlikar
Dr. Morgan Kelly
Dr. Laura Lagomarsino
Dr. Christine Lattin
Dr. Nicholas Mason

Co-mentors 2024-2025

Dr. Anny Chung

Plant & Microbial Ecology

University of Georgia

Dr. Catherin Newman

Genetic & Epigenetic Responses to Substances Abuse

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Dr. Emily Kane

Biomechanics of Fishes

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Dr. Erik Johnson

Avian Ecology, Conservation & Management

Louisiana State University

Dr. Havalend Steinmuller

Biogeochemical Cycling &
Coastal Geomorphology

Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium

Dr. Hector Douglas

Stables Isotopes, & Avian Ecology

Grambling State University

Dr. Laura Frost

Generation & Maintenance of Biodiversity

University of South Alabama

Dr. Mary Miller

Freshwater Sponges & Microbiology

Baton Rouge Community College

past-comentors

Dr. Loren Cassin Sackett

University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Dr. Hector Douglas

Grambling State University
Dr. Jordan Dowell

Louisiana State University
Dr. Kathleen Ferris

Tulane University
Dr. Samantha Gerlanch

Dillard University

Dr. Alex Gunderson

Tulane University
Dr. Nastassia Jones

Southern University A&M
Dr. Francesca Mellieon-Williams

Southern University A&M
Dr. Catherin Newman

University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Allyn Shoeffler

Loyola University New Orleans

Dr. Hector Douglas

Grambling State University
Dr. Jordan Dowell

Louisiana State University
Dr. Kathleen Ferris

Tulane University
Dr. Laura Frost

University of South Alabama
Dr. Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Dr. Simon Lailvaux

The University of New Orleans
Dr. Matthew McCarry

Rice University
Dr. Francesca Mellieon-Williams

Southern University A&M
Dr. Catherin Newman

University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Allyn Shoeffler

Loyola University New Orleans

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Dr. Jeremy Brown

Phylogenetics and Molecular Evolution

Brown lab

Dr. Morgan Kelly

Ecology, Evolution, Genetics, and Conservation of Marine Invertebrates

KELLY LAB

Dr. Laura Lagomarsino

Plant Sytematics, Taxonomy and Rapid Evolution in the Andes

LAGOMARSINO LAB

Dr. Nicholas Mason

Avian Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation

MASON LAB

Dr. Zakiya Wilson-Kennedy

Chemistry Education Research and Practice

WILSON-KENNEDY LAB

Dr. Ana Salgado

Program Coordinator