Lab Members

The people that have worked, volunteered, and studied in the Martyniuk Lab – past and present. We build on their knowledge, dedication and hard work. We truly function as a team and are always looking for enthusiastic, curious, motivated individuals to join us!

Principle Investigator: Dr. Christopher Martyniuk

Graduate Students

Elizabeth Brammer-Robbins, PhD candidate

Elizabeth Brammer-Robbins’ research interests range from wildlife ecology and conservation to ecotoxicology and endocrine disruption. Her Masters research was focused on FL manatee reproductive physiology through measurement and analysis of plasma lipid and hormone composition and concentration. Elizabeth believes in application of minimally invasive sampling techniques and was able to implement this in her experimental design. She hopes to use this data to move FL manatee reproductive physiology forward and build on previous research. Elizabeth also investigated the use of probiotic treatments to prevent outbreaks of a bacterial pathogen in the ornamental fish industry. She is now a Ph.D. student in the Department of Physiology in the College of Vet Med. Her Ph.D. thesis direction will involve conservation physiology research in the FL manatee. Elizabeth’s career goal is to investigate reproductive challenges faced by threatened or endangered species through research at a zoological institute or governmental scientific agency such as NOAA. Elizabeth spends her free time playing with her two Australian shepherds, hanging out with friends, and exploring FL nature!

Visiting Research Scholars

Isaac Konig

I am a PhD student in agricultural chemistry in Brazil and a visiting scholar at Martyniuk Lab. My project

aims to compare the toxicity of carvacrol, carvacryl acetate and fipronil using zebra fish as a model.
During my masters in health sciences, I applied sublethal concentrations of carvacryl acetate to control
the reproduction of ticks. The experiments showed that a single chemical modification in the structure
of carvacrol, a natural compound extracted from oregano, was able to considerably enhance its biocidal
activity against ticks. My goal now is to evaluate the toxicity of carvacrol and its derivative and compare
with a commercially available acaricide to determine whether or not the natural based compound is safe
for field applications. I am learning new techniques and refining my research skills at Martyniuk Lab. In
my free time, I am going to as many Christmas parties as possible =D I also like to listen to music and
hang out with friends.

Undergraduate Students

Ciara Saccente

Hello! My name is Ciara Saccente. I am a freshman at UF studying Biology and hope to be a physician one day. I am from Deltona, FL & I love swimming, going to the beach, and spending quality time with friends/family. Fun fact: I am a certified advanced open water scuba diver and have been diving since I was 10 years old! 

I am a second-year marine sciences major and I hope to attend veterinary school after graduation. For my research project, I am studying the effects of 5-fluoruracil, an antineoplastic chemical, on the development and behavior of zebrafish embryos and larvae. In my free time, I enjoy dancing, baking, and spending time with my friends and family.

Cole English

I am a first-year student in pursuit of an undergraduate education in animal science with a specialization in animal biology. Following the completion of an undergraduate education, I intend to pursue a doctorate in veterinary medicine with a certificate in aquatic animal medicine with the final resolve to function occupationally as a physician-scientist. Through extracurricular involvement within the Martyniuk laboratory, my research is concerned with the effects of environmental stimulants on the molecular networks that characterize physiological, phenotypic, and locomotor changes in zebrafish larvae. Extraneous to the academic domain, I enjoy playing the piano, reading, and being outdoors.

Neep Patel

I’m a third-year student majoring in biology and on the pre-medical track. I am currently investigating the physiological and neurological effects of Perfluorotetradecanoic acid on the development of zebrafish larvae. Additionally, I plan on going into gene expression analysis and utilizing it as another measure of toxicity. Outside of research, I am involved with UMatter, We Care as an ambassador and treasurer alongside being in various premedical-based organizations. My hobbies include watching sports, playing video games, and collecting sneakers.

Madeline McCoy

Hello! My name is Madeline McCoy and I am a Zoology major on the pre-vet track. I hope to become a wildlife veterinarian after I graduate from UF. My research involves measuring physiological indicators of stress and reproduction to assess reproductive health in wild Florida manatees. Outside of school, I enjoying fencing and volunteering at the local animal shelter.

Kira Kazi

I am a second-year microbiology major minoring in theatre and English. For my research project, I am studying the effects of citalopram, an SSRI often used for treating depression, on zebrafish larvae and embryos. In my free time, I love to read, sing, perform, and spend time with friends and family! After earning my undergraduate degree, I hope to attend medical school.

Home

Angel Biju

I am a second-year student majoring in Biology on the Pre-Medical track. Currently, I am researching how the anti-anxiety medication Buspirone affects Zebrafish development and behavior. Outside of the lab, I enjoy reading, playing piano, and hanging out with friends in my free time. In the future, I hope to attend Medical School and become a physician.

Taylor Casine

I am a third-year biology major minoring in leadership on a Pre-Vet track. Since I can remember, I have always felt a strong connection to the natural world which has inspired my love for animals and respect for the environment. My work in the Martyniuk Lab is focused on assessing the impact that various environmental contaminants have on the thyroid hormonal systems of animals, like zebrafish. Outside of the lab and school, I devote my time to helping organizations that protect animals and promote conservation. Some of my volunteer work includes caring for small animals as an assistant veterinary technician at the Humane Society, teaching people about wildlife and the importance of conservation as a docent at a local zoo, and running a small, non-profit business that benefits animal rescue organizations. In the future, I hope to become a veterinarian so that I can help animals when they are sick, as well as benefit their owners by teaching them how to properly care for their pets.

Former Members

The Martyniuk lab has hosted several FVSP students over the years. Check out this CVM video on the program.

Former PhD Student, Kit Souders

Kit’s research interests range from hypertension, mitochondrial bioenergetics, and zebrafish behavior, while his current projects include in vitro and in vivo xenobiotic and endogenous chemical exposures, followed by high throughput experiments to assess primarily mitochondrial and metabolic endpoints. These include a variety of microplate based assays, Seahorse Bioanalyzer-based metabolic profiling experiments, as well as behavioral zebrafish assays using a Daniovision observation chamber. Kit finds the discovery component of science to be particularly rewarding as well as the thought and care that goes into designing experiments and communicating results. Over the past 5 years he has contributed data to over 30 scientific publications and hopes to publish many more! In his free time, Kit likes to garden, draw, read, and play with his daughter, Miriam.

Some of our favorite “Kit-isms”:

“How significantly do tadpoles change?” “Just a tad” “Hop skip and a jump” “Toadily”

“Committee meetings, all I can say is that you’re more afraid of them than they are of you!”

“On your mind like meningitis”

Former PhD Student, David Dreier

David Dreier was a Ph.D. student co-supervised by Drs. Chris Martyniuk and Nancy Denslow at the University of Florida. He was a Graduate Research Fellow of the National Science Foundation, where his research focused on developing adverse outcome pathways for multiple stressors in fish. David was also a distinguished graduate of Baylor University, where he held a Greater Research Opportunity Fellowship with the United States Environmental Protection Agency. From this experience, David’s research also leveraged emerging high-throughput, omics-based methods to assess the effects of environmental contaminants on the environment. His research has won several awards, including the F. Ray Wilson II Award for Best Thesis in the Physical and Life Sciences at Baylor University and the Foster (Sonny) Mayer Best Ph.D. Platform Presentation at SETAC North America. David has also been an active SETAC member and has served on the Board of Directors as Chair of the North America Student Advisory Council (NASAC). In his free time, David enjoys trail running and playing the saxophone.

Congratulations on getting a job at Syngenta, David!!!

Former Visiting Domestic & International Students

Hebatallah Mahgoub, PhD, MVSc, BVSc
Post-Doctoral Fulbright Scholar
Pathology Department
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Mansoura University, Egypt​

2018-2019             Lihua Yang (PhD)
Institute of Hydrobiology
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wuhan, China

2018-2019             Xujia Zhang

2017-2018              Fangjie Cao

2016-2018              Ondřej Adamovský

2017-2018              Xuefang Liang

2017-2018              Ling Zhao (Linda)

2017-2018                Hua Qing

2016-2017                Hong Wang

Former Lab Manager Wendi Malphurs

Former Lab Manager Nader El Ahmadie

Former Lab Manager Jordan Schmidt

Past Graduate Students

Past Undergraduate Students

Former Lab members not pictured:

Isabel Daher, Christine Larrea, Bisma Masudi, Anna Yoon, Ashley Baker, Jovina Martinez, Edward Shontz, Jonna Boyda, Kaley Knapp, Yasmin Chishti, Rick Wood, Kathleena Sarty, Ashely Eadie, Emma Crowley, Scott Goudreau, Laurett Nwaonumah, Katie Biggs, Nicole Chaisson, Lillian Fanjoy, Andrea Gamble, Ryan Sherrard, Brittany Chown, Jason Seidel, Mohammad Zeino, Lacey Haddon, Jinying Sun, Feng Tang, Alejandro De La Cova, Joshua Guzman, Naomi Ector, Natalie Crespo and Sho Sohag.