At 鶹, the future of marine science is on full display. Three graduate students in the Department of Biological Sciences have earned honorable mentions for the 2025 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Kaitlyn Pounders, Gabrielle Newton and Emily Ogawa were each recognized for their research. These 鶹 scientists, whose research, passion, and ethics are paving the way for a better planet and a stronger scientific community, are continuing to excel with their commitment to science.
This year was a record low for NSF awards due to federal government cutbacks. NSF granted 1,000 awards out of the 13,000 applicants, and there were 3,018 honorable mentions as well.
Kaitlyn Pounders is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences, and her advisor is Assistant Professor Taylor Sloey.
Q: What is your research project about and who does it impact?
In recent decades, a lot of emphasis has been put on what a coastal marsh can provide to a coastal community (i.e. ecosystem services), especially considering several driving forces such as climate change and land-use change altering the state of marshes. Marsh restoration efforts are fairly prevalent in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions of the U.S, and there has been an increased demand to understand how the physical environment changes the way a restoration project provides valuable ecosystem services like climate mitigation through carbon sequestration and storage as well as erosion control. The plant community within a marsh and their plant functional traits help to contribute to or provide ecosystem services. One issue the Chesapeake Bay has, and has had, is eutrophic conditions due to nitrogen and phosphorus inputs throughout the bay. My project aims to understand how nutrient loads may influence a restored marsh's ability to provide ecosystem services through an investigation on aboveground and belowground plant functional trait responses. The results from this project could potentially help to improve current restoration strategies that directly protect the various coastal communities around the Chesapeake Bay area!
Gabrielle “Gabby” Newton is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences and her advisor is Assistant Professor Massamba N’Siala. They do research in the marine benthic ecology.
Q: What is your research project about and who does it impact?
My proposed thesis focuses on diversified bet hedging in coastal marine invertebrates—an adaptive strategy that some marine organisms use to cope with unpredictable environmental conditions brought on by climate change. I’m specifically investigating whetherOphryotrocha labronica, my model species, employs this strategy within broods of offspring and across multiple generations. If we find evidence of bet hedging in this species, it could have important implications for how we manage fisheries and in increasingly variable environments.
Emily Ogawa is an Ecological Sciences Ph.D. student and is being advised by Assistant Professor Shirel Kahane-Rapport.
Q: What is your research project about and who does it impact?
My research is focused on modeling microplastic ingestion risk to foraging humpback whales in the Chesapeake Bay. As some of the largest filter feeders in our oceans, humpback whales are at a high risk of microplastic consumption, both directly from the water, and indirectly through contaminated prey. Microplastics (MP) have been found in marine mammal blubber, commercial seafood, and even human blood. Global plastic production is not decreasing, and as current pollutants continue to degrade, it is imperative to create a snapshot of MP contamination levels in present time.My work will uncover how plastic contamination in lower trophic levels may also pose risks to human health. My goal is to address and fill knowledge gaps in microplastic identification and quantification in the Chesapeake Bay. My research will inform local organizations, management plans, and contribute to national initiatives. I have committed my methodologies and results to the 2026-2030 Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan. This research is being conducted out of 鶹 in close proximity to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Beach, and the greater Virginia coastline.
Each of these graduate students’ commitment to conducting research on aquaculture, microplastics and coastal marshes are critical to Virginia and the science community.
For Pounders, receiving the Honorable Mention from the NSF left her “shocked.” She also acclaims Dr. Sloey has changed and made a huge impact on her career, “I don’t think I could have grown so much as a person and academic if it weren't for Dr. Sloey, and I owe a lot of credit to her for that”!
Additionally, Dr. Sloey had so much to praise about Pounders goals in STEM saying, “Having worked with her as an undergraduate researcher, and now a M.S. student, I can attest to her drive, natural acumen for scientific inquiry, and dedication to improving our understanding and management of coastal ecosystems.”
Newton highlights the power of mentorship, especially for women in science, to build a stronger, more inclusive scientific community. Newton said, “This acknowledgment feels like a meaningful confirmation that the research I’m doing is not only important but also has the potential to contribute valuable insights to the field of Marine Biology.”
Dr. Massamba N'Siala commented about Newtown’s recognition, “Her achievement in receiving a second NSF GRFP Honorable Mention is a testament to her resilience, perseverance, and commitment to advancing marine science. Having had the privilege of mentoring her through her undergraduate honors capstone and now into her graduate work, I am incredibly proud of Gabby’s determination to carve her path toward a successful scientific career.”
Guided by the mentorship of Dr. Kahane-Rapport, Ogawa continues to grow as a researcher. Ogawa said, “Dr. Kahane-Rapport not only pushes me to strive for success but has also strengthened my passion for research and science as a whole. I’m deeply grateful for her guidance and proud to call her one of my role models in the scientific community.”
Ogawaearned her B.S. in Marine Biology from Hawaii Pacific University and began her Ph.D. at 鶹 in 2024. Dr. Kahane-Rapport said, “Emily is poised to thrive in our program and her research proposal focused on how microplastics in the water column and prey species impact ingestion rates and energetic budgets in baleen whales. We are thrilled that Emily received an NSF GRFP Honorable Mention and look forward to the exciting contributions she will make at the forefront of ecotoxicology research.”
Representation in science matters. As a Japanese American woman in marine science, Ogawa is committed to inspiring young scientists to dream big and advocate for the conservation of our oceans.
Incoming graduate student Lindsey Reimelsearned her B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Rhode Island in May 2025 and will join us at 鶹 in Fall 2025. Dr. Kahane-Rapport said, “This year, she was awarded the NSF GRFP—an outstanding accomplishment! “We’re proud to welcome Lindsey to the lab and excited to support her as she becomes a leader in conservation biology and a powerful advocate for microplastic mitigation. Her NSF-supported research will explore filter feeding as a direct pathway for microplastic ingestion in baleen whales, emphasizing the risks of microplastic retention across marine organisms.”
Each of these scientists is pursuing their passion in marine science. They are not only improving research that addresses some of our planet’s environmental challenges but also breaking barriers, creating spaces of representation, and inspiring the next generation of scientists.