Past Members

Graduate Students

Dustin Rhoads (M.S. 2019) – Back-ground color-matching in the Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum).              
Steven Mirkin (M.S. 2019) – Predation release of Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) living in small towns.              
Rachel Alenius (M.S. 2018) – Diet analysis of Texas horned lizards living in two small Texas towns.
Alexis Ackel (M.S. 2016) – The devil in the details: population estimation for conservation management of Texas horned lizards.              
Carolina Granthon (M.S. 2015) – Avian malaria and body condition in four species of songbird.
Ashley Wall  (M.S. 2014) – Status and movement patterns of Texas horned lizards living in urban areas.
Daniella Biffi (M.S. 2014) – Non-invasive sampling and censusing marine otters in Peru.
Daniel Tallent (M.S. 2012) – Genetic variation in the pds gene and its relation to fluridone resistance in Hydrilla verticillata.
Jenny Korstian 
(co-advisor with Dr. Amanda Hale) (M.S. 2012) – Genetic structure of migrating red bats in Texas.
Anna Frankel 
(M.S. 2011) – Multiple paternity in the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.
Natalia Quinteros 
(M.S. 2010) – Genetic structure of Polylepis multijuga Plige (Rosaceae) forests.
Meredith Hawkins 
(M.S. 2010) – Genetic structure of the endangered painted terrapin (Batagur borneoensis) in captive breeding programs.
Amber Grayjzck 
(M.S. 2009) – Evidence of clonal reproduction and high genetic variation in the exotic weed Hydrilla verticillata.

Undergraduates

Toby Do (B.S. 2019) Genetic basis of concealing coloration in Texas horned lizards.
Kara Scolman (B.S. 2019) – coadvised with Dr. Amanda Hale –  Yellow bat fatalities at wind farms: What can we learn using genetic approaches?
Andrew Eberwein (B.S. 2019) Genetic basis of concealing coloration in Texas horned lizards.
Jessica Yates (B.S. 2018) DNA barcoding beetles in the diet of Texas horned lizards.
Jessie Farris (B.S. 2016) Diet analysis of Texas horned lizards.
Mallory Melton (B.S. 2016) Identifying individual Texas horned lizards using belly spots.
Sharon Fronk (B.S. 2015) – Diet determination of Texas horned lizards through fecal DNA analysis.
Shan Jiang (B.S. 2015) – Genetic typing of museum Texas horned lizards.
Ali Schildt (B.S. 2013) – Identification of bat species using fecal DNA from Wolf Ridge wind farm.
Maryam Arastu (B.S. 2012) – Paternity patterns in Brazilian peppertree.
William Fleischer (B.S. 2012) – DNA barcoding of bats killed by wind turbines.
Richard Fleischer (B.S. 2011) – Invasive Brazilian peppertree genetic diversity.
Megan Raetz (B.S. 2010) – Genetic diversity and taxonomy of Gulf Coast phragmites.
Karin Roehrs Ruiz (B.S. 2009 ) – Phylogeography of Brazilian peppertree.
Cory Leach (B.S. 2009) – Invasion genetics of purple swamphens.
Allison Hough (B.S. 2009) – Population structure of a potential biological control agent.
Melissa Fleischer (B.S. 2008) – Genetic diversity of wild vanilla.

Honors thesis

Tu Huynh (B.S. 2017) Determining ploidy levels in Hydrilla verticillata.
Kaitlyn Upton (B.S. 2017) DNA Barcoding for diet items of Texas horned lizards.
Rachel Alenius (B.S. 2016) – Morphological and DNA diet analyses of Texas horned lizards in small towns.
Andrew Trinh (B.S. 2016)Relationship of feces size to body mass in Texas horned lizards.
Kristin Scoggin 
(B.S. 2016) Genetic typing of an extinct Texas horned lizard population from museum specimens.
Lizzie Do 
(B.S. 2015) Analysis of yeast DNA sequences to determine unique yeast species to Texas that are optimal for distilling whiskey.

Tanner Campbell 
(B.S. 2014) – Genetic characterization of a new population of the critically endangered Puerto Rican crested toad.

John Cody (B.S. 2013) – Diet analysis of bats at a wind energy facility.
Carolina Granthon (B.S. 2012) – Genetic characterization of a new Lygodactylus gecko species from Kenya.
Lauren Langsjoen (B.S. 2012) – Fine scale genetic patterns of brown jay mitochondrial d-loop variation.
Louis Ndupu (B.S. 2010) – Using ISSRs to identify the genetic structure of thrips.

Lab Managers

Yael Benyamini – Yael joined the Williams Lab in 2012 as a research technician working mainly with bat fecal DNA analyses.
Megan Raetz – After graduating from TCU, Megan worked as research technician conducting research on the genetic diversity and taxonomy of Gulf Coast phragmites and thrips.
Emmanuela Mujica – Emma worked as a research technician studying Texas horned lizard genetic structure.

Visiting Researchers

Sara Van Der Leek (Wayland Baptist University) – Fragmentation effects in Texas horned lizards
Keri BarfieldBotanical Research Institute of Texas
Robert ArnoldFirestone & Roberson Distilling Co.