COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas Sea Grant College Program at Texas A&M University (TAMU) will award $49,335 in research grants to 20 graduate students at three Texas A&M University System institutions.

The students are funded through Texas Sea Grant’s Grants-In-Aid of Graduate Research Program, which provides small two-year grants to students enrolled at Texas A&M University (TAMU), Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) or Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC). Funded projects must be marine- or coastal-related research and relevant to Texas, though not necessarily based in Texas. The grants are awarded after a competitive proposal review process and are designed to promote scientific excellence and achievement.

“The Grants-In-Aid of Graduate Research Program encourages research activities and supports students in their early careers, enabling the development of their research skills and learning to navigate the grant proposal process. Awarded grants provide opportunities for the student to also develop presentation skills and thesis development,” said Mia Zwolinski, Assistant Director, Research and Fiscal Administration at Texas Sea Grant.

The Texas Sea Grant Grants-In-Aid of Graduate Research Program FY2021-23 recipients, their institutions and projects are listed below.

• Molly Brzezinski, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMUCC,
  “Dermal Toxicity of Photodegraded Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons”
• Dillon Campbell, pursuing a doctorate in marine and coastal management and science at TAMUG, “The Socioeconomic Implications of Marine Debris in Galveston Bay: Unraveling the Management Strategies and Increasing Public Awareness”
• Katheryn Campbell, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMUG, “Mineralogical Influence on Microbial Community Composition and Function in Lakes Along the East-West Precipitation Gradient of Texas”
• Sarah Davis, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMUG,
  “A Toxic Fate? The Impact of Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid on the Toxin Production of Karenia brevis and Dinophysis ovum”
• Elena Duran, pursuing a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology at TAMU, “Avian Sentinels: An Evaluation of Black Skimmer Health in a Persistently Contaminated Region”
• Ashleigh Epps, pursuing a masters in marine biology at TAMUCC, “Corals Thriving in Dynamic Environments May Hold Key Insights into Future Coral Reefs”
• Allyson Girard, pursuing a masters in chemistry at TAMUCC, “Assessing the Influence of Genotypic Diversity on Sulfur Dynamics in the Seagrass Halodule wrightii Using Stable Isotope Analysis”
• Alexandra Good, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMUCC, “A Risk and Resilience Assessment of Coastal Bend Oyster Reefs from Two Sub-Species of the Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica”
• Binglin Guo, pursuing a doctorate in environmental engineering at TAMU, “Characterization of Microplastics/Nanoplastics in Photochemical Interactions with Natural Organic Matters in the Marine Environment”
• Tacey Hicks, pursuing a doctorate in oceanography at TAMU, “Understanding the Chemical Environment of Deep Sea Coral Reefs”
• Asim Bashir Khajwal, pursuing a doctorate in civil engineering at TAMU, “Trustworthy Crowdsourcing for Rapid Disaster Damage Assessment: Addressing Uncertainty and Enhancing Reliability”
• Chengxue Li, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMU, “Impacts of Hurricane Harvey on Recruitment Dynamics of Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in Galveston Bay”
• Kaden Muffett, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMUG, “Impact of a Jellyfish on Gulf Microbial Sediments”
• Rayna Nolen, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMUG, “The Fate and Physiological Effects of Emerging PFAS Pollutants in Coastal and Offshore Pelagic Fish and Marine Mammal Species”
• Colin O’Donnell, pursuing a masters in marine biology at TAMUCC, “Genomic Analysis of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on Nurdles in Beach Sediment Along Galveston Bay”
• Sangeetha Puthigai, pursuing a masters in oceanography at TAMU, “Per and Poly Fluoroalkyl substances in Sea Turtles and Ocean. A One Health Approach”
• Allison Savoie, pursuing a doctorate in oceanography at TAMU, “Investigating Changes in Carbonate Chemistry at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary across Five Years”
• Dominic Swift, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMUCC,
  “Assessing MHC-Associated Mate Choice in the Dusky Smoothhound (Mustelus canis) and Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)”
• Olivia Thibault, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMUG, “Comparison of Invasive and Noninvasive Steroid Hormone Sampling Techniques in Adult Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma)”
• David Weber, pursuing a doctorate in marine biology at TAMUCC, “Epigenetic Biomarkers: A Novel, Non-Lethal Approach to Aging Exploited Fish Species”