2025
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER
  • Started my research exchange at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. I participated in field work, lab work, and x-rayed 120 of my dissertation oyster shells at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute's Veterinary Center! 
  • Matched with my yearlong pen pal through the Letters to a Pre-Scientist program! We'll exchange 8 letters over the course of the academic year about STEM, my pathway to becoming a scientist, and our common interests.

AUGUST
  • Awarded an NSF-INTERN to fund a 6-month research exchange at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center! I will be a Smithsonian PhD fellow studying marine parasites in the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab. 

JUNE
  • Presented a talk at the Evolution 2025 meeting in Athens, GA! It was great to catch up with previous Lotterhos lab alumni and mentees, engage with some really great research, and make lots of new connections!

MAY
  • Awarded Best Talk award from faculty and students for my talk "Unexpected patterns of introgression and genetic structure in a marine invertebrate" at the annual Northeastern Marine Science Center Graduate Symposium.
  • Spent 10 days in the field at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science with lab members Anna, Eshna, and Lei! We took ~1600 biopsies of eastern oyster tissue and collected condition data for the Lotterhos Lab experiment. 
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APRIL
FEBRUARY
  • My first first-author manuscript was published in Conservation Genetics! I explored the substitution rates of shark and swordfish meat in New England markets, and found an overall 10.5% substitution rate. 

JANUARY
  • Elected to the American Society of Naturalists Graduate Council to serve as a member from 2025 - 2027!
  • Presented my poster on the range-wide population structure at NOAA's 44th Milford Aquaculture Seminar. Thanks to the Northeastern Association of Marine & Great Lakes Laboratories for funding my attendance!
  • My manuscript, "DNA barcoding reveals mislabeling of endangered sharks sold as swordfish in New England fish markets", is accepted at Conservation Genetics!​

2024
DECEMBER
  • Recipient of a Northeastern Association of Marine & Great Lakes Laboratories (NEAMGLL) Student Award to fund my attendance at the 44th Milford Aquaculture Seminar in January 2025!
  • Invited to speak at Boston University with co-author Ally Swank on our forthcoming manuscript about Queer perspectives in EEB! We co-presented during the weekly Biology Department seminar. 
 
NOVEMBER
  • Spent 10 days in the field at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science! I collected mortality data and re-tagged oysters for an ongoing common garden study with Lotterhos lab members Zea Segnitz and Zoe Chapman. Check out our blog post and video that details the work we completed during our trip!
  • Featured in news coverage for LGBTQ+ STEM Day by Northeastern University College of Science! 

OCTOBER
  • Presented a science storytelling and communication workshop for the Northeastern Marine Science Center Graduate Student Association! 
  • Attended the Gloucester Marine Genomics Forum, in Gloucester, MA! It was great to network with everyone.

SEPTEMBER
  • Matched with my yearlong pen pal through the Letters to a Pre-Scientist program! We'll exchange 8 letters over the course of the academic year about STEM, my pathway to becoming a scientist, and our common interests.

AUGUST
  • Ran the inaugural iteration of the BIMODAL workshop with co-facilitators Angela Jones and Lindsey Forg. Read the media coverage of the event from the College of Science! 
  • Completed phenotypic data collection on eastern oyster macroparasites for my second dissertation chapter. Thanks to two fantastic summer interns, Nina Johnson and Lisa Gouralnik, for their hard work! 
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JULY
  • Invited to present at my first conference symposia! I gave a talk on the conservation genetics of eastern oysters at the 3rd Joint Congress of Evolutionary Biology in Montréal, Canada. Recording available here. 
  • Presented a poster at Evolution 2024 entitled Queer perspectives on ineffective DEI initiatives in EEB with my outstanding co-authors Andy Lee, Ally Swank, and Leila Curtis. Stay tuned for the forthcoming manuscript!  

JUNE
  • Invited and gave a short talk about my experience as a queer scientist in the natural history field at a 500 Queer Scientists pride month networking mixer. Happy Pride Month!!
  • My manuscript, "DNA barcoding reveals mislabeling of endangered sharks sold as swordfish in New England fish markets", is now under review at Conservation Genetics! Preprint available here.

MAY
  • Awarded Best Talk (1st place) by faculty judging and Best Talk (3rd place) by fellow graduate student judging for my talk on historic oyster DNA at the annual Northeastern Marine Science Center Graduate Student Symposium!
  • Received an Equity Action Grant from Northeastern University's College of Science to further inclusivity initiatives! Fellow PhD student Angela Jones and I will use the grant to develop a workshop this summer. 
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​APRIL
​MARCH
  • Attended a workshop on Ancient DNA Analysis at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC
  • Presented another successful "Oyster Doctors" outreach program with my lab and received news coverage!

FEBRUARY
  • Passed my last qualifying exam, the proposal defense, and was admitted to candidacy in my PhD program!
  • Completed the Evolving Seas RCN VLTP program with Dr. Courtney Hofman's lab at the University of Oklahoma

2023
DECEMBER
  • Received the Collaboration Award at the annual Lotterhos Lab Award Ceremony for initiating and funding my new collaboration with Dr. Ryan Carnegie at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. 

OCTOBER - NOVEMBER
  • Spent a month in the field at VIMS to conduct feasibility analysis of extracting DNA from historic preserved oysters
  • Finished processing the last population of eastern oysters (1,160 oysters total) for my seascape genomic analysis! 

SEPTEMBER
  • Presented a talk on my temporal oyster genomics study design at the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute

AUGUST
  • Attended a SLiM workshop at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology hosted by Dr. Ben Haller
  • Presented the "Oyster Doctors" outreach program for COSA Marine Science Academy with my lab!

JUNE
  • Attended Evolution 2023 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and had a blast! I presented a talk on my research about geographic distribution of eastern oyster macroparasites.
  • Awarded the Lerner-Gray Grant for Marine Research from the American Museum of Natural History!

MAY
  • Published a Forthcoming Paper Press Release with the American Society of Naturalists
  • Presented on my research and pathway to grad school to 50+ local students from Lynn Public High School

APRIL
  • Awarded an Honorable Mention on my NSF-GRFP proposal! Although not funded, I received great reviews.
  • Passed my oral comprehensive knowledge exam, the first qualifying exam on the route to candidacy.

MARCH
  • Presented the "Oyster Doctors" outreach program I developed for the HSMSS at Northeastern, and it was a hit!

2022
DECEMBER
  • Received the Data Integrity Award at the annual Lotterhos Lab Award Ceremony for my organization skills with our seascape phenotype data!
Let's get in touch!
Copyright Madeline Eppley, 2025
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We acknowledge the territory on which Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center stands, which is the land of the Mattakeeset tribe (1) of the Massachuset Nation (2,5) and which has been inhabited by the Pawtucket (3,5) and Naumkeag (4,5) people. We honor and respect these peoples' past, present, and future, their continuing presence in this region, and the enduring relationships that exist between them and these lands. We strive to be mindful of these relationships, and to integrate them into our research, teaching, decision-making, and actions, while also acknowledging that we still have much to learn.   

​Citations:  
1.      https://www.mattakeeset.com/history   
2.      https://accessgenealogy.com/massachusetts/massachuset-tribe.htm   
3.      https://capeannhistory.org/index.php/chapter-5-what-native-people-were-on-cape-ann-at-the-time-of-contact-and-where-did-they-come-from/   
4.      http://www.salemhistorical.org/massachusetts-indigenous-community-resources
​5.       https://native-land.ca/