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Cassidy D'Aloia
Assistant Professor | she/her | cassidy.daloia 'at' utoronto.ca CV / Google Scholar /@C_daloia Cass is a marine molecular ecologist and field biologist. For her PhD, she studied larval dispersal in the Caribbean with Pete Buston at Boston University. During a brief hiatus from the field, she spent her postdoc years learning more about spatial ecology with Marie-Josee Fortin at the University of Toronto and theoretical ecology with Michael Neubert at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Outside of work, Cass enjoys diving, yoga, horseback riding, good books, and vegetarian cooking. |
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Taylor Naaykens
PhD Student | she/her | taylor.naaykens 'at' utoronto.ca Taylor is a marine biologist who loves gobies, sea sponges, and scuba diving! Her PhD research focus is on the population genetic patterns of sponge-dwelling cryptobenthic fishes and their host sponges. Her MSc research investigated the use of an isolation-by-distance based method for measuring marine larval dispersal in Belizean gobies. Prior to pursuing research in marine biology, Taylor cultivated experience as a research/field technician working on various projects studying wolf predation, wetland ecology, and arctic marine mammals. Her favourite leisure activities include scuba diving, salsa dancing, axe throwing, and hiking. |
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Lydia White
PhD Student (co-supervised w/ Rémy Rochette at UNB) | she/her | lydia.white 'at' unb.ca www.lydiawhite.ca / @LWhiteScience Lydia is a PhD Candidate at UNBSJ where her research centres around American lobster biology and fishery ecology. She recently completed her Masters, under the supervision of Rémy Rochette, in which she created an individual based model to forecast future lobster fishery recruitment based on benthic recruitment densities in Atlantic Canada. Under the co-supervision of Rémy and Cassidy, Lydia's PhD research will expand on the relationships between benthic and fisheries recruitment, as well as exploring potential environmental drivers to explain the variability in benthic recruitment densities across Atlantic Canada. If she’s not on a boat sampling lobster, or creating fun and colourful figures in R, you're likely to find her on her mountain bike enjoying the trails in Rockwood Park! |
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Hana Fahim
MSc Student | she/her | hana.fahim 'at' mail.utoronto.ca Hana is a MSc student at the D’Aloia lab studying habitat preferences and specificity of cryptobenthic fishes and the effect of coral reef degradation on these fishes in Curacao. In a previous life, she worked as an investment banker but returned to school to pursue her passion for ecology and conservation biology. During her bachelor’s at UofT, she completed her honours thesis with Emily Darling focusing on the function and resilience of urban coral reefs in India. In her free time, Hana enjoys hiking, diving, and traveling, but when it’s cold, she prefers cozying up inside and playing board games. |
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Jon Kubelka
MSc Student | he/him | jon.kubelka 'at' mail.utoronto.ca Jon is a master’s student whose research interests primarily revolve around the ecology of commercially fished marine invertebrates. In his undergraduate degree at UNBSJ, he completed his honors thesis with Rémy Rochette on validating American lobster embryonic development models. For his masters, Jon is working in partnership with the DFO on a project involving the use of next generation sequencing to quantify stock structure of waved whelk in the 3Ps fishery subdivision. |
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Sarah Babaei
MSc Student (co-supervised w/ Scott Pavey at UNB) | sarah.babaei 'at' unb.ca Sarah joined the Pavey & D'Aloia labs after completing her Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Genetics at McMaster University. She completed her honors thesis in the Quinn lab and focused on Optimization of Multiplex PCR for Microsatellite DNA to Determine Heterozygosity in the New Zealand Pukeko. For her MSc at UNBSJ, Sarah is working in partnership with DFO to study stock structure and population genetics of Atlantic cod in the 3Ps fishery subdivision off the south coast of Newfoundland using next generation sequencing. |
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Shala Manivannan
Undergraduate honours student (BIO481) Shala is an undergraduate thesis student studying the genetic cloning of sponges in Curacao. She is double majoring in environmental science and conservation biology. She is passionate about marine conservation and has previously volunteered and worked in this field. In her free time, Shala enjoys scuba diving, hiking, cooking and travelling |
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Celia Ngounou Djomeni
Undergraduate research student Celia is an undergraduate student in a chemistry and biology double major. She is interested in molecular biology and chemistry. She is passionate about environmental issues and frequently volunteers for such causes. In her free time, Celia enjoys crocheting, knitting, being active, and spending time with friends and family. |
Alumni:
Graduate students
Will Sturch (MSc 2020-2022)
Taylor Naaykens (MSc 2020-2022)
Undergraduate research students
Hira Zahid (2023; ROP 399)
Rana Fineman (2023; ROP 399)
Renee Patungan (2022-2023; ROP 299)
Emilie Diesbourg (2020-2022; Honours student; NSERC USRA)
Sam Vieira (2020-2021)
Mj Tiamzon (2021; WDHOF Scholarship)
Naysa Francis (2021)
Jillian Beals (2019)
Graduate students
Will Sturch (MSc 2020-2022)
Taylor Naaykens (MSc 2020-2022)
Undergraduate research students
Hira Zahid (2023; ROP 399)
Rana Fineman (2023; ROP 399)
Renee Patungan (2022-2023; ROP 299)
Emilie Diesbourg (2020-2022; Honours student; NSERC USRA)
Sam Vieira (2020-2021)
Mj Tiamzon (2021; WDHOF Scholarship)
Naysa Francis (2021)
Jillian Beals (2019)
If you're interested in working in the lab, check out the Join Us page.