Lab alumni

Past Graduate Students

PhD Student: Kaleigh Davis (she/her)
​Thesis: Nutrient effects on metabolic rate in a changing world: a multi-scale approach
2023
​Currently: Postdoctoral researcher, University of Guelph

PhD Student: Emily Adamczyk (she/her)
​Thesis: Effects of human activities, environment, and time on eelgrass-associated epifaunal communities.
2022
​Currently: Senior Marine Scientist and Project Manager at Dynamic Ocean Consulting

PhD Student: John Christiani
​Thesis: The connectivity of coastal marine populations : uncovering patterns of dispersal and the implications for management
2022
​Currently: Aquatic Science Biologist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada

MSc Student:​ Matt Cristensen
​Thesis: Estimating blue carbon storage capacity of Canada's eelgrass beds
2023

PhD Student: Mairin Deith
Thesis: Spatial dimensions and dynamics of bushmeat hunting: predicting defaunation and managing for sustainability.
2022
​Currently: Postdoctoral Researcher at the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries with Dr. Murdoch McAllister

PhD Student: Coreen Forbes
Thesis: Scaling from species' traits to the maintenance of biodiversity in a changing world
2023

MSc Student: Evgeniya (Jane) Yangel (she/her)
​Thesis: An experimental test of how microbial communities respond to warming in systems connected by dispersal
2021
​Currently: Marine biologist at Advisian

PhD Student: Joey Bernhardt (she/her)
​Thesis: The thermal ecology of populations and ecosystem services in a changing world. 
2018
​Currently: Assistant Professor University of Guelph

PhD Student: Matt Siegle
​Thesis: "Heat wave impacts across scales in the splash pool copepod, Tigriopus californicus". Co-supervised by Rick Taylor.
2017
Currently: DFO's Quantitative Assessments Methods section

MSc Student: Natalie Caulk
​Thesis: "An evaluation of the effectiveness of rockfish conservation areas in British Columbia, Canada".
2015
​Currently: Associate Director at California Coastkeeper Alliance

PhD Student: Dana Haggarty
​Thesis: "Community structure and availability of primary producers to herbivores along a temperature gradient". Co-supervised by Jon Shurin.
​2015
Currently: Inshore Rockfish and Lingcod Program Head, Fisheries and Oceans Canada​

MSc Student: Natalie Stafl
​Thesis: "Quantifying the effect of hiking disturbance on the American pika (Ochtona princeps) foraging behaviour". 
2013
Currently: Executive Director for the Columbia-Shuswap Invasive Species Society.

MSc Student: Ross Whippo
​Thesis: "Seagrass epifaunal communities of Barkley Sound: Epifaunal diversity varies across small spatial and temporal scales". 
2013
Currently: PhD student and NSF Fellow at Aaron Galloway's lab at OIMB. Biologist at the Smithsonian, Tennenbaum Marine Observatory Network, MarineGEO. Check out Ross' website here.

Past Visiting Students

Visiting PhD Student: Minako Abe Ito
Akkeshi Marine Station, Hokkaido University
2016–2017

Visiting Undergraduate Student: Dominik Bahlburg
University of Oldenburg
2016

Visiting PhD Student: Jessica Garzke
IMF-GEOMAR; Kiel, Germany
2012

Visiting Scientific Illustrator and Undergraduate Student:
Frances Ratcliffe
Pippa Moore's group in Wales
Check out Frances' website here.
2012

Past Postdoctoral Researchers

David M. Anderson, PhD
2021-2024
Postdoctoral Fellow

​Currently: Postdoctoral Research at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology

Check out David's website here.
Mélanie-Louise Leblanc, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Currently: Wildlife Biologist at Niskamoon Corporation

Tess Grainger, PhD
2023
Postdoctoral Fellow

Currently: Assistant Professor, University of Guelph

Check out Tess's Lab here

Devin Kirk, PhD
2022
Postdoctoral Fellow

Currently: Senior Data Scientist with Geco Engineering

Check out Devin's LinkedIn Profile here.

Eden Tekwa, PhD
2022
Postdoctoral Fellow

Currently: Research Associate with Dr. Jennifer Sunday at McGill

Check out Eden's website here.

Jacob Usinowicz, PhD
2022
Postdoctoral Fellow

Matt Whalen, PhD
2020–2022
Hakai Coastal Initiative Fellow
​Cosupervised by Patrick Martone

Currently: Assistant Professor of Biology at Virginia State University

Check out Matt's website here.

Norah Brown, PhD
2020–2021
Hakai Coastal Initiative Fellow

Currently: Aquatic Science Biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Check out Norah's personal website here.

Julián Idrobo, PhD
2020–2021
Research Associate

Currently: Research Chair, Indigenous Approaches to Environmental Management at Aurora Research Institute: South Slave Research Centre.

Check out Julián's Research Gate site here.

Sarah Joy Bittick
2017–2019
Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellow
Project title: Identifying nutrient thresholds for sustainable management of British Columbia seagrass beds

​Currently: Assistant Professor, Loyola Marymount University, Seaver College of Science and Engineering, Department of Biology 

Sarah Joy's website

Patrick Thompson, PhD
2016–2019
Killam Postdoctoral Fellow

Currently: Research Biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Check out Patrick's personal website here.

Jennifer Sunday
2015–2017

​Currently: Assistant Professor and William Dawson Scholar at McGill University. 

Robin Elahi
2014–2015

​Currently: Lecturer at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station. 

Adrian Stier
2012–2013

​Currently: Associate Professor and PI of the Ocean Recoveries Lab at UC Santa Barbara 

Past Research Assistants

Michelle Tseng, PhD

Currently: Assistant Professor at UBC

Devin Lyons, PhD

Currently with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maritimes

Past Undergraduate Students

Malena Heinrichs, Laboratory Research Assistant (2024-2025)

​Leticia Queiroz, B.Sc., Work Learn International Undergraduate Research Award recipient

Lara Rovers, BSc., Undergraduate Research Assistant

Alexis Bangayan, BSc. SURE Award Undergrad and Technician

Cori-Anne Huisman, BSc. Honours
2017

I did my undergraduate honours thesis with the O’Connor Lab as part of my BSc in animal biology. With the support of Matthew Siegle (alumni PhD student), my research project focused on thermal tolerance in intertidal copepods and their potential for adaptation to rising temperatures and heat spikes. It investigated the potential impact of climate change on population-level adaptation and it set me on the path to where I am today.

Currently, I am a third-year veterinary medicine student at the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Ontario. I am enthusiastic about wildlife and exotic animal medicine and hope to be a zoo and wildlife veterinarian when I graduate next year!

Gwendolyn Griffiths, BSc. Honours and Field Assistant
2016

Thesis: "From red to green: Controls of Smithora naiadum colonization of Zostera marina meadows"

I live in Halifax with my partner and two doggies. I am currently finishing up teacher's college and starting a masters in mathematics at Waterloo. I am doing some ocean career education research through MITACS. I think research and teaching are pretty strongly related (both involve a passion for solving problems). If you are extroverted (like me!) teaching is a wonderful way to connect research to the lives of others. 

Check out Gwendolyn's webpage here.

Sachiko Ouchi​, Directed Studies student
2015–2016

The natural beauty of the north has always drawn me in and taken my breath away, and after many enjoyable but laborious years of education, I relocated to Terrace and am currently employed by Kitselas First Nation as the Marine Resource Stewardship Officer. My days are filled with Marine Protected Area Network planning and Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP) marine plan implementation on the North Coast. Looking back at it all, the O’Connor lab was integral in fostering critical thinking and communication skills that have proved invaluable throughout all areas of my life.

Nicole Knight, BSc. Honours and Lab Assistant
2014

Thesis: "The variable impacts of predation on seagrass mesograzer communities in Trevor Channel, British Columbia"
​
Currently: Postdoc in this lab, because time is a circle

Jemma Titheridge, BSc. Honours
2014–2015

Sarah Amundrud, BSc. Honours
2011–2012

Thesis: "The relative importance of predators and nutrients on eelgrass benthic food webs in British Columbia. Ecology and Environmental Biology".
Currently: PhD Student in Diane Srivastava's lab at UBC
​

Andrew Huang, Directed Studies student
2011–2012

Currently a biologist at the Canadian Wildlife Service working as a Joint Venture Coordinator. The Joint Venture is a regional conservation partnership composed of government and non-government organizations with the collective goal of conserving birds and bird habitat. We do things ranging from land acquisition, to habitat restoration, to species monitoring, to working with private landowners to encourage stewardship actions. Find out more about us: https://pacificbirds.org/ and http://cijv.ca/. My research experience at the O’Connor lab was what kick started me into the world of birds, conservation, and perhaps most importantly, learning how to work collaboratively with others!

Carolyn Prentice, BSc. Honours
2011–2012

Thesis: "The relative impacts of three mesograzer species on eelgrass (Zostera marina) epiphyte abundance in Barkley Sound, B.C."
Currently: Nearshore Research Technician at Hakai Institute

Past Directed Studies Students

Zander Chila (2016-2017)
Amir Gohari (2016-2017)
Scott Brydle (2015-2016)
Theodore Back (2015-2016)
Melanie Overhill (2013-2014)
Stephanie Connor (2011-2012)
David Xiao Song (2012-2013)
Coreen Forbes (2010-2011; currently a PhD student in the lab)
Patricia Sun (2010-2011)

Past Lab Techs and Volunteers

Marcus Campbell (2016-2017)
William Ou (2016-2017)
Allison Dennert (2015-2016)
Melinda Yogendran (2014-2015)​
John Cristiani (2012-2013)
Winnie Cheung
Nick Uthaikhaifar (2011-2012)
Sanjna Hothi (2012)
Boaz Hung (2011)