Zoë Collins is a first-year PhD student with LUMCON and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Her background is in marine biogeochemistry. She previously worked in the lab of Dr. Tina Treude at UCLA, where she studied biogeochemical cycling in ancient Earth analogs with the goal of constraining exoplanet habitability models. For the past two years she worked at a Los Angeles-based environmental nonprofit, managing community science programs and policy advocacy for coastal resilience initiatives including marine protected areas and DDT contamination remediation. At LUMCON, Zoë studies biogeochemistry, intraspecific genetic diversity in seagrasses, and the connections between the two at marsh terrace restoration sites.
Hadley Tompkins is a Masters candidate who joined the Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab in August 2026, and holds a B.S. in Renewable Natural Resources from the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Hadley's research focuses on digital precision analysis of urban and coastal water quality.
Former Personnel
Abigail Tamburello was a member of LUMCON’s STEM PREP program, and a third-year undergraduate student at Loyola University , double majoring in Environmental Science with a biological concentration and Computer Science.
LaVonna Kalala was a LUMCON STEM Prep student in the Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab and is an undergraduate biology student at Grambling State University.
Rebecca Nix was an REU student at LUMCON. Rebecca is from Lawrenceburg, TN. and loves all things concerning nature. She grew up on a farm, which solidified her love for the outdoors and led her to majoring in Geology with a concentration in Geospatial Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Rebecca’s academic interests center on coastal and wetland ecosystems.
Cadie Barnes was a laboratory technician in the Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab at Dauphin Island Sea Lab from 2023 - 2024. Cadie is now a MS student in the Aquatic Biogeochemistry Lab at the University of Central Florida.
Haley Crawford was a research assistant within the Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab at LUMCON. Haley comes to us from the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, where she worked in the oyster hatchery. Haley is now a graduate student with Dr. Anna Armitage at Texas A&M, Galveston!
Amellia Ollis was a LUMCON STEM Prep student in the Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab and is an undergraduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Ilya Sniff was an REU student in the Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab at Dauphin Island Sea Lab for the summer of 2023. Ilya’s project, focused on determining the geochemical effects associated with a novel method of oyster reef restoration, can be found here. Ilya is finishing his degree at Grinnell College and will be pursuing a PhD in Astrophysics and Mechanical Engineering in Fall 2025.
Gracen Miller is a rising senior at Tulane University, majoring in Earth & Environmental Science with minors in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and in Teaching, Learning, and Training. Gracen was an REU student in the Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab and is continuing with the lab as part of her senior thesis. Her previous research experience focused on vertical gas fluxes in mangroves along the coast of Louisiana. After college she hopes to continue researching coastal wetlands and eventually earn a PhD. A fun fact about Gracen is that she loves backpacking.
Cameron Donofrio was a MS student in the Ecotoxicology program within the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama. He received a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of West Florida in 2022. Cameron is interested in coastal eutrophication and the impacts of nutrient cycling on coastal water quality and graduated in 2025.
