Dowd lab people

I am eager to continuously (re)populate the lab with dedicated, enthusiastic, and creative scientists at all levels, from beginning undergraduates to PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Please see the News page for additional information about ongoing recruitment efforts.

Lab members posing as mussel or copepod
Are you a mussel or a copepod?

Undergraduate Students

Students sampling mussels in the intertidal zone
Student with confocal microscope
Students monitoring splashpool conditions at field site

Victoria Mackenzie (McNair Scholar)

Addison Fowler (Honors)

Grace Tefft

Amelia Kuelgen

Student with SICB conference poster.

Graduate Students

I hope to recruit one or more new graduate students during the 2026-2027 admissions cycle, with preference for PhD students whose interests clearly align with the research themes in our lab. However, this is subject to funding availability within our department. Please contact me later in fall 2026 if you are interested in pursuing graduate research in the lab and see the SBS graduate studies page for program information.

Murad Jah, PhD student (2024-present)

Murad in field

Murad earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern California, where he studied sex-specific metabolism in the supratidal marine copepod Tigriopus californicus. Murad is interested in the stress response in T. californicus and examining how environmental fluctuations impact these organisms. He is currently investigating carryover effects of exposure to salinity and/or temperature extremes early in development. Beyond his research, Murad is an avid rugby player and passionate scuba diver.

Avery Kruger, PhD student (2026-present)

Avery in the field.

Avery joined the lab in 2026 after earning bachelor’s degrees from Arizona State University in both Conservation Biology and Environmental Science. Avery’s previous research involved understanding heat shock protein expression and plasticity in the symbiotic upside-down jellyfish, Cassiopea xamachana. Avery is very interested in physiological variation under environmental stress, and she is very excited to join the mussel team! Outside of the lab Avery enjoys reading, fishing, and soaking up some sun.

Postdoctoral Research Associates

I encourage individuals interested in the lab to contact me about opportunities to apply for external funding sources. Examples of past opportunities, which may or may not be currently active, include the NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships, as well as the American Physiological Society Postdoctoral Fellowship.  

Talia Head, PhD (2025-present)

Talia earned her Ph.D. in 2025 from Colorado State University, where she studied the role of cGMP-dependent protein kinases in regulating molting hormones in decapod crustaceans. Her research interests center on integrating traditional physiological approaches with molecular techniques and bioinformatic analyses. In our lab, Talia is investigating how environmental heterogeneity influences variation in the heat stress response in the California mussel, Mytilus californianus. Her long-term goal is to become a principal investigator leading her own research program, where she can use integrative approaches to examine the relationships between environment, gene expression, and physiology.

Lab alumni – Postdoctoral Fellows

Khuong in field

Khuong V. Dinh, Ph.D. (WSU 2019-2020)

Principal Researcher and Senior Lecturer, University of
Oslo, Norway

Richelle in field

Richelle Tanner, Ph.D. (WSU 2018-2020)

Assistant Professor, Environmental Science & Policy, Chapman University.

Kathryn M. Anderson, Ph.D. (WSU 2018)

Visiting Assistant Professor, Bates College

Lani in field

Lani U. Gleason, Ph.D. (LMU 2015-2017)

Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Sacramento

Luke in field

Luke P. Miller, Ph.D. (LMU 2015)

Associate Professor, Department of Biology, San Diego State University

Ana in field

Ana G. Jimenez, Ph.D. (LMU 2014-2015) 

Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Colgate University

Lab alumni – Graduate Students

Caroline collecting copepods

Caroline Terry, Ph.D. (2021-2026)

“A multi-level investigation of the mechanisms underlying cross-tolerance effects of salinity on heat tolerance in Tigriopus californicus.” Moved on to Postdoctoral Researcher position at Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute.

Andi in field

Andrea (Andi) Delgado, M.S. (2022-2024)

“The effects of sequential and sublethal stress on mussel metabolism and antioxidant capacity.” Moved on to Memorial University Newfoundland, PhD Program.

Arani in field

Arani Cuevas-Sanchez, M.S. (2018-2020)

“The effects of ecologically relevant stressors on the physiology and behavior of the copepod Tigriopus californicus.” Moved on to University of Western Ontario, PhD Program.

Lab alumni – Undergraduate students

An * indicates students who have earned co-authorship on papers or manuscripts in preparation

WSU undergraduates:

Ella Purvis* (Biology ’26, Honors thesis); Nina Pingel (Zoology ’24); Ryotaro Colon (Environmental Science ’24); Annika Dawley (Biology ’24; Honors thesis; Oregon State MS program); Josie Liebzeit* (Biology ’24); Robert Lee (Biology ’22); Paige Gardner (Biology ’22; UC Santa Cruz PhD program); Asiamay Diaz (Biology ’21; St. George’s University College of Veterinary Medicine); Kyle Hulse (Biology ’21; University of Washington School of Medicine); Thomas LeClair (Biology and Music ’20; Fulbright Scholar to Wales then WSU College of Veterinary Medicine); Autumn Miller* (Biology ’21); Kyle Catey (Biology ’19); Katherine Buhl* (Biology post-baccalaureate ’19; Wayne State University School of Medicine); Savanna Garza (Biology ’19; WSU College of Veterinary Medicine)

LMU undergraduates:

Chase Dugay (Biology ’17; Creighton University College of Medicine); Emma Strand* (Biology ’18; University of Rhode Island Ph.D. program); Brian Hizon* (Biology ’18; Rush University Medical School); Helena Drolshagen (Biology ’18); Jeremiah Dallmer* (Biology ’16; Vanderbilt University School of Medicine); Edward Njoo* (Biochemistry ’18); Shaina Alves* (Biochemistry ’15; University of San Francisco School of Public Health); Jenny Bleck (Biology ’15); Sarah Jayawardene* (Biochemistry ’16; Boston College Ph.D. program in Chemical Biology); Colin Wikholm (Biology ’17); Chandler Weisbart (Biology ’14; LECOM School of Dental Medicine); Selina Roa* (Biology ’14; Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine); Rachael Sears (Environmental Science ’14); Michael Carlone (Biology ’13; Brandeis University Biophysics MS program); Kellen Flanigan (Biology ’13; Colorado State University veterinary school); Terry Rinder (Biology ’12; Midwestern University D.O. program)

PI – W. Wesley (Wes) Dowd

Wes collecting in field

Boeing Distinguished Professor in Science/Math Education, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University (2025-present)

  • Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University (2017-2025)
  • Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Loyola Marymount University (2016-2017)
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Loyola Marymount University (2011-2016)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University (2009-2011)