Meet The Team
Past Team Members
Former Post-Bac Scholars in the Morris Lab at Furman
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Skyler Fox (2022-2023)
Skyler was responsible for managing numerous projects in the lab, including development and collection of microsatellite genotype-by-sequencing (GBS) data for Sagittaria fasciculata, Shortia galacifolia, Phacelia bipinnatifida, Sarracenia oreophila, and Sassafras albidum.
Former Undergraduate Students in the Morris Lab at Furman
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Diana Ilie (2023-2024)
Population genetics of Sagittaria fasciculata with an emphasis on North Carolina
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Rachel Housworth (2023-2024)
Population genetics of Sagittaria fasciculata with an emphasis on South Carolina
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Rachel Kelly (2023-2024)
Natural History Collections Internship
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Chase Smith (2022-2023)
Assessing the extent to which the Furman Tree Care Plan meets criteria of tree species diversity
Lily Stafford (2022-2023)
Building a better genetic toolkit for Sagittaria fasciculata
Lo Vodo (2022-2023)
Documenting clonal and genetic structure in the Oconee bells species complex
Lauren Eberth (2021-2022)
Nuclear microsatellite locus development for the state threatened Oconee bells (Shortia galacifolia and S. brevistyla)
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Banks Floyd (2021-2022)
Nuclear microsatellite locus development for the federally endangered bunched arrowhead (Sagittaria fasciculata)
Skyler Fox (2020-2022)
The importance of iNaturalist in research and education; Population genetics of the federally endangered leafy prairie-clover (Dalea foliosa) in Middle Tennessee
Jack O'Brien (2021-2022)
Internship in the Furman University Natural History Collections
Calla Pederson (2021-2022)
Nuclear microsatellite locus development for the state threatened Oconee bells (Shortia galacifolia and S. brevistyla)
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Nora Tillmanns (2021-2022)
Nuclear microsatellite locus development for the federally endangered bunched arrowhead (Sagittaria fasciculata)
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Former Graduate Students in the Morris Lab at MTSU and USA
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Lee Rumble (M.S. May 2019) Middle Tennessee State University
Measuring spatial and temporal shifts in beech gap forest structure and composition in response to beech bark disease in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Jesse Harris (2016-2018) Middle Tennessee State University
Jesse was accepted to the PhD program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of Colorado Boulder, where he started in Fall 2018
Bleu Jackson (2017-2019) Middle Tennessee State University
Bleu left academia for greener pastures, and we wish her the best of luck!​
Kevin Trostel (M.S. August 2017) Middle Tennessee State University
Population Genetics of the rare cedar glade endemic Astragalus bibullatus (Fabaceae) using nuclear microsatellites
Rayne Leonard (M.S. December 2015) Middle Tennessee State University
Using comparative plastomics to identify potentially informative non-coding regions for basal angiosperms, with a focus on Illicium (Schisandraceae)
Jackie Howell (M.S. December 2012) University of South Alabama - Co-Chaired with Tim Sherman
Species distribution and hybridization of Sarracenia at Splinter Hill Bog Preserve
Elizabeth Hieb (M.S. December 2012) University of South Alabama - Co-Chaired with Anne Boettcher
A genetic analysis of population structure and reproductive ecology in the Alabama red-bellied turtle (Pseudemys alabamensis Baur)
Brenna Ehmen (M.S. December 2012) University of South Alabama - Thesis Committee Member
Seagrass abundance and population structure in Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi
T.G. Jackson (M.S. May 2009) University of South Alabama - Co-Chaired with David Nelson
A phylogenetic appraisal of the endangered Alabama red-bellied turtle (Pseudemys alabamensis Baur)
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​Former Undergraduates in the Morris Lab at MTSU
Emily Oppmann (B.S. May 2021)
Assessing the clonal nature of running glade clover (Trifolium calcaricum J.L. Collins & T.F. Wieboldt; Fabaceae)
Jeremy Smith (B.S. May 2019)
Characterization of previously published microsatellite loci for the invasive zebra mussel in Tennessee
Maddy Ellis (B.S. May 2019)
Seed ecology of Dalea foliosa in Tennessee
Jon Cannon (Honors thesis defense, April 2019)
Using microsatellite loci to characterize variation within and among populations of the federally endangered Astragalus bibullatus (Pyne's ground plum; Fabaceae)
Zack Nix
Comparative plastomics in Fagus grandifolia (Fagaceae)
Fady Girgis (B.S. December 2017)
Systematics of Old World Illicium (Schisandraceae)
Mora Sedhom (B.S. December 2017)
Systematics of Astragalus section Sarcocarpi (Fabaceae)
Ash Johnson
​Systematics of Dalea section Kuhnistera ser. Candidae (Fabaceae)
Shelby Watkins (B.S. December 2017)
Genetic diversity in reintroduced and augmented populations of Dalea foliosa in Illinois​
Cassandra Scalf (B.S. August 2015), Austin Burleyson (B.S. December 2015), and LaTonya Johnson (B.S. December 2015)
Characterization of novel microsatellite loci for the federally endangered Astragalus bibullatus
Emily McElroy
Intraspecific comparative plastomics of Liquidambar styraciflua
Nick Taylor (B.S. May 2016)
Comparative plastomics of Astragalus section Sarcocarpi
Ashley Witt
Building a campus-wide teaching resource for tree identification at MTSU
Nick Gonder
Reorganization and digitization of the MTSU herbarium
Stephanie Cooper (B.S. December 2016), Shelby Watkins (B.S. December 2017), Zach Hull
Characterization of nuclear microsatellite loci in Dalea foliosa, a federally endangered Cedar Glade legume
Penny Carroll & Rayne Leonard
Characterization of nuclear microsatellite loci in Illicium parviflorum, a basal angiosperm endemic to Central Florida
Kelsie Mason & Nicole Millsaps
Clonal population genetic structure in Fagus grandifolia as determined by nuclear microsatellite loci
Marcelle Albert & Ali Fricke
Soil microbial community diversity in high-elevation beech gaps of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Marion Bustos & Cliff Hunn
Screening nuclear and plastid genes for phylogeny reconstruction in the basal angiosperm genus Illicium
Erin Tyrell (Post-Baccalaureate)
Reproductive ecology of Colonel’s Island Basswood on the barrier islands of Georgia
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​Former Undergraduates in the Morris Lab at USA
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While at USA, I had six undergraduate students working on diverse projects. Darah Newell completed her Honors thesis on clonal structure of Illicium parviflorum. Leslie Cazeaux and Serena Nimityongskil used TRFLP data to characterize bacterial community structure in Sarracenia pitcher plants. Erica Branch and Micah El Farrah worked to identify chloroplast DNA barcoding regions for closely related species of Illicium. Jackie Howell evaluated the utility of published microsatellite loci for determining clonal structure in American beech. I also co-mentored Nicole Bulla for her Honors thesis on Ruppia maritima​.