Summer is in full swing, and we are celebrating four students graduating during Florida State University’s summer 2024 commencement! Rachael Best and Jackson Powell, will both graduate with their doctorates, officially granting them the titles of Dr. Best and Dr. Powell. Kevin Engelbert and Grace Westphal will both graduate with their master's, and we are thrilled to watch them continue their journeys of scientific discoveries. Read more about each of these incredible students below. Congratulations, Rachael, Jackson, Kevin, and Grace!
Rachael Best
Dr. Rachael Best successfully defended her dissertation, “Plastic Morphology and Trophic Flexibility: Understanding Environmental Drivers and Evolutionary Implications or Intraspecific Variation in Gorgonian Octocorals.” Her research investigated mechanisms of intraspecific variation in response to variable environments in both tropical octocoral species from the US Virgin Islands as well as a temperate octocoral species from the Gulf of Mexico. She studied intraspecific variation in polyp morphology, and utilized carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes analyses to quantify trophic strategy differences through shifts in reliance on heterotrophic feeding and autotrophic endosymbionts concerning polyp tentacle lengths. Then, to isolate intraspecific variation of the host in response to depth, independent from autotrophic endosymbionts, she studied phenotypic plasticity in a temperate, heterotrophic octocoral species native to the Gulf of Mexico.
She received the Matt Beard Award for Scientific Diving and was part of the FSU Fellow’s Society. Most of her work was funded through the FSUCML Board of Trustees Research Scholarship, the Jack Winn Gramling Award in Marine Biology (FSU), the William R. and Lenore Mote Assistantship (FSU), the Graduate Marine Conservation Scholarship through Women Divers Hall of Fame, the Graduate Fellowship in Marine Science through the Smithsonian Link Fellowship, and a Scholarship Trust through the International Women’s Fishing Association.
One of Rachael’s favorite field memories was when she retrieved her reciprocal transplant from her inshore and offshore sites in the Gulf of Mexico far earlier than planned in preparation for Hurricane Ian (which thankfully ended up not hitting St. Teresa!). That field day was quite demanding, but the weather was beautiful, and the work went seamlessly. She and her team descended on all the transplants at every single site, which was a rare occurrence, with nearly all of the octocorals still living. This was incredibly satisfying and made what could have been a stressful day very rewarding and fun!
Rachael is currently a SPIRE Postdoctoral Fellow* at UNC Chapel Hill conducting research in Dr. Sophie McCoy’s lab! This fellowship is funded through the Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) program under NIGMS.
Jackson Powell
Our second newly minted doctor, Dr. Jackson Powell, successfully defended his dissertation, "Trait sensitivity and evolution in sessile marine invertebrates", which reported on the findings of his research into the thermal tolerance of the marine bryozoan, Bugula neritina, and the evolvability of dispersal traits (e.g., larval trunk length, larval tail length, settling success) in the solitary ascidian, Molgula occidentalis. He found that B. neritina colonies feed more quickly as temperatures increase while their growth rate and reproduction decline above 25 °C, providing insight into their seasonality in the waters off the FSU Marine Lab. His research into M. occidentalis revealed that the adaptive evolution of each dispersal trait is unlikely to be constrained by another trait and that these traits can evolve through selection on the individual's mother.
Jackson received many prestigious awards while at FSU including a McKnight Doctoral Fellowship (Florida Education Fund), Mote Research Assistantship (FSU), a Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research (American Museum of Natural History), an FSUCML Scholarship (FSU), and an Non-Academic Research Internship for Graduate Students (awarded by NSF, based out of NOAA Southwest Fisheries).
One of his favorite FSUCML memories was diving at K-Tower during his time training in the Academic Diving Program, headed by Dive Safety Officer Chris Peters. His next step is to pursue a postdoctoral research position.
Kevin Engelbert
Master’s graduate, Kevin Engelbert, defended his research on “Tracing the Historical Increase of Sediment Organic Carbon in a Coastal Lagoon: Insights from Dual Analytical Approaches.” This study investigated changes in sediment organic carbon (OC) content in Apalachicola Bay, Florida, using surface sediment samples and dated sediment cores. Both methods showed a consistent increase in OC content since the 1950s, with the most significant increase occurring between 1959 and 1994. Despite some differences in exact concentrations, both approaches highlighted the impact of historical anthropogenic activities, such as dam construction and dredging, on OC accumulation in the region.
Kevin was also a finalist in FSU’s 2024 “The Master’s in Four” and won the People’s Choice Award during this competition. He was also awarded the 2023 Graduate Student Excellence in the Visual Arts. His favorite FSUCML memories are enjoying the beautiful sunsets on the FSUCML beach property. He is proud of his five co-authored publications and plans to publish his master’s work soon. He currently works for the DEP in the Florida Geological Survey.
Grace Westphal
Finally, master’s graduate Grace Westphal’s thesis was titled “Differences in die-offs: investigating variation in infection patterns and virulence across the landscape in an oyster-parasite system”. Her thesis focused on eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and the parasite responsible for causing Dermo disease, Perkinsus marinus. To understand the factors driving different degrees of disease induced mortality, she compared and contrasted patterns of disease prevalence and severity in two important fishery populations: Apalachicola Bay, FL and Chesapeake Bay, MD.
While at FSU, Grace received the Legacy Fellowship, the Mote Fellowship, and the FSU Diving Scholarship. She was also the President for Graduate Women in STEM from 2023 – 2024. She was so proud of how the organization was able to give back to FSU students and the Tallahassee community. She is especially proud of their work on the 10th annual ART in STEM competition and is extremely grateful to have been a part of this community while at FSU.
She has started a Ph.D. in the Integrative Biology Department at UC Berkeley with Dan Okamoto and Tara Stewart Merrill (as an external advisor) where she plans to continue researching disease ecology.
Congratulations again to these exceptional scientists! The world is most certainly your oyster. 😊
*“The goal of SPIRE was to address the growing crisis in science education by investing in tomorrow’s science scholars and educators and providing them with a holistic approach to postgraduate professional development. SPIRE strives to blend an outstanding research environment with broad professional development activities and hands-on classroom experiences for those scientists who want to combine research with undergraduate and graduate education.”