Lab Personnel

Dr. Elise S. Morrison – Principal Investigator

Dr. Elise S. Morrison is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences in the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environments. Her research program focuses on nutrient and organic matter cycling in wetland and estuarine systems, with an emphasis on microbial processes and chemical biomarkers. Many of her ongoing projects evaluate the ecosystem and biogeochemical effects of anthropogenic nutrient inputs. She received her PhD in Soil Microbiology in the Soil and Water Sciences Department at the University of Florida and her B.S. in the University of California, Davis.

Dr. Shin-Ah Lee – Research Asst. Scientist

Dr. Shin-Ah Lee is a Research Assistant Scientist in the Morrison Lab. She earned a Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental science at Seoul National University in 2020 and she was focused on the source and fluxes of organic matter in the coastal ocean using biogeochemical tracers. Her research focuses on multiple biogeochemical tracers, including optical and fluorescence excitation−emission matrices to characterize dissolved organic matter and the analysis of stable isotopes of multiple elements, including the stable isotope of oxygen associated with phosphate.

Amanda Chappel – Postdoctoral Research Associate

Amanda has extensive experience in environmental systems and biological research with a focus in coastal water chemistry and wetland soil biogeochemistry. She is studying the ecosystem effects of coastal eutrophication in estuarine systems with the goal of supporting effective management strategies that will advance solutions to minimize anthropogenic impacts to coastal waters. This research also seeks to better understand the influence anthropogenic nutrients have on habitats that are an ecological and economic necessity like mangrove, marsh, and seagrass communities. Amanda is a Certified Ecologist and received her PhD from the University of Florida and her Bachelors and Masters of Science from the University of South Florida in Environmental Science. Her research interests include quantifying carbon burial and accumulation rates as a proxy for sea-level rise and historic ecosystem dynamics in mangrove forests, nutrient cycling and sequestration in estuarine and coastal habitats, performed extensive mapping and monitoring of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and is proficient in listed species surveys.

Megan Sanford

Megan received her B.S. in Biology and Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida. As an undergraduate student, Megan was involved in various research projects and pursued an undergraduate thesis categorizing the microbial community of Swedish fjords examining how microbes influence carbon transformation in highly efficient carbon burial sites.

Megan’s research focuses on understanding how microbial processes affect biogeochemical cycling at the ecosystem scale within coastal systems and the implications these processes have on global change. She is interested in using molecular, chemical, and isotopic metrics to elucidate microbial community structure and function in estuarine sediment. Currently, she is looking at the microbial community and function in salt marsh sediments to determine how microbial processes may be affected by sea level rise. She aims to understand how microbial processes and interactions influence net biogeochemical cycling and provide insight into how coastal systems will be impacted in the future.

Madeline Sutherland

Madeline’s research surrounds coastal systems and the ongoing anthropogenic impacts that affect them. She earned her Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Newcastle University where her thesis focused on legacy heavy metals in rivers and the greater Tyne estuary through their appearance in plants and sediments. A Florida native, she went to the University of South Florida for her undergraduate degrees receiving BAs in Economics and Mathematics before moving to teach high school followed by her continuing graduate education.  

Dr. Robert (Bobby) Scharping

Bobby was a postdoctoral research associate in the Morrison lab. In the Morrison Lab, Bobby studied the organic matter, nutrient, and phytoplankton dynamics of South Florida estuaries to better understand harmful algal blooms. Bobby earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at the University of South Florida, where he studied the ecology and biogeochemistry of coastal aquifers and underwater caves. He continued researching coastal aquifer and cave ecosystems as a postdoctoral scholar at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the U.S. Geological Survey, and was a Visiting Instructor of Marine Biology at Florida Southern College.

Dr. João Henrique Fernandes Amaral

Dr. João Henrique Fernandes Amaral was a postdoctoral researcher in the Morrison lab from 2021 to 2023. He is a biologist (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil) with a Masters degree in Freshwater Biology and Continental Fisheries and a Ph.D. in Biology – Ecology, both from the National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), Brazil. He is an ecosystem ecologist with a strong background in biogeochemistry and limnology, motivated to understand ecosystem functioning in inland water ecosystems.

Zanti Rains – Masters

Zanti’s research focused on augmenting previously designed hurricane monitoring towers (Sentinels) with water quality instrumentation to co-locate wind and water measurements. This research enhances our understanding of water dynamics and the water-quality degradation that Florida shorelines experience after hurricanes. Zanti received her B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Biology from Florida State University. During those four years she worked as an Environmental Specialist at the Florida Geological Survey, a research intern at Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, participated in the Sustainable Land and Water Resources (MT) Research Experience for Undergraduates, and taught Spin classes. These were all growing experiences that were each very different from one another, resulting in a diverse array of interests and an excitement to gain more skills and perspectives at the University of Florida.

Zanti is joining the ongoing Sentinel Project. This project Zanti will be a part of the design team and will be evaluating and analyzing the data.

Miguel Perrez Porras

Kameron Masters

Lauren Blake

Tyler Vasco

Leanne Olson

Rebecca Poole

Alyssa Antoinette

Megan Sanford