Tomas received his BS, MS and PhD from the University of Michigan. After completing his PhD, he worked as a research investigator at the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystem Research. He has been a faculty at Purdue since 2008, and he also serves as Associate Director for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant.

Paris earned a bachelors degree in biology from Samford University, a masters degree in zoology from Southern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in evolution, ecology and organismal biology from the Ohio State University. Prior to coming to Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue, he did post-doctoral research at the US Geological Survey and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lake Research at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on ecosystem dynamics in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Working in these large systems, he uses ecological and statistical models as tools to develop a mechanistic understanding about how anthropogenic and natural stressors impact ecosystem structure and function. This research is interdisciplinary by nature and extensive requires collaborations with academic federal, provincial and state agency personnel from across the basin. Current projects include describing how food web structure changes along productivity gradients in Lakes Huron, Ontario, Erie and Michigan identifying sources of variation in the relationship between total phosphorus and chlorophyll concentrations in western Lake Erie and evaluating the ecological effects of hypoxia in central Lake Erie.

Peter is a research biologist who uses a combination of modern genomic techniques and ecology to answer questions related to animal movement, local adaptation, and evolution to inform management and conservation. Much of his research focuses on investigating the population genetic structure and local adaptation of fishes in the Great Lakes including walleye, lake trout, perch, and alewife.

Alex earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Biology from the University of Louisiana, at Monroe in 2017 and 2020 respectively. His master’s thesis research focused on the effects of damming on river ecosystems. He found widespread of evidence of disturbance both within a Himalayan river and outside its banks. Alex's PhD research at Purdue will focus on investigating the impacts of climate change and high nutrient concentrations in Lake Superior through size spectrum modeling and field sampling.

Carolyn's background is in invertebrate biology. Her research focuses on growth and survival of benthic macroinvertebrates like Diporeia and Hexagenia, as well as small-bodied fishes like round gobies and young yellow perch. Techniques employed include diet analysis, stable isotope analysis, and RNA:DNA. Carolyn is also the assistant research coordinator for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant.

Spencer Gardner completed his BS in fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology at North Carolina State University in 2016. While at NC State, Spencer worked as a research technician for the NC Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, conducting independent research on the impact of methodological variability in generating population dynamic parameter estimates. In 2017, Spencer began his MS at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where his research focused on understanding the ecological mechanisms that contribute to variable first year growth and recruitment in southern flounder. Spencer then joined the Höök Lab in 2021 to begin his PhD research on prey fish recruitment patterns in Lake Michigan. Over the next few years, Spencer will be developing an agent-based bioenergetics model to simulate larval alewife and yellow perch foraging, growth, and ultimate survival.

Anna completed her BS in Marine Science with a concentration in Marine Biology from University of Delaware in 2021. After graduation, she worked as an Aquatic Ecology Technician at the Illinois Natural History Survey at the Kaskaskia Biological Station conducting standardized fisheries surveys on larval, juvenile, and adult fishes. She then became an Intern at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab collecting fishery independent data in Alabama state waters and assisting in the beginning efforts for the Greater Amberjack Count. At Purdue, her MS research will focus on both identifying migration patterns of yellow perch in and out of drowned river mouth lakes, and characterizing larval alewife and bloater age, diet, and growth in Lake Michigan.

Jelsie completed her BS in Environmental and Natural Resources at Clemson University in 2018. After graduation, Jelsie worked as a senior research technician for the Freshwater Conservation Ecology Lab at Clemson. In this position, Jelsie supported multiple projects focused on understanding resource and habitat selection of aquatic species. Jelsie's MS research focuses on quantifying and modeling habitat availability of cisco, as well as estimating and comparing nutrient load reductions of LIDs and BMPs for cisco watersheds.

Scott completed his BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan in 2017, where he participated in studies of a Japanese reef fish and lake sturgeon. As an intern at the University of Arkansas, he researched the trophic interactions between smallmouth bass and crayfish in Ozark streams. His MS research at Purdue (completed 2020) investigated the variation of reproductive traits, such as egg size, particularly in yellow perch in Lake Michigan and inland lakes. His PhD research now evaluates reproductive utilization of a restored reef in Saginaw Bay, and more generally explores reproductive trait diversity in freshwater fishes.

Rajeev Kumar completed his BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2019. There, he partook in studies of cyanobacteria, fish ecology, and amphibian disease ecology. Rajeev’s PhD work at Purdue examines the feasibility of successfully reintroducing Cisco into Lake Erie.

Luke earned his bachelor's degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Biodiversity from the University of Michigan in 2020. Luke worked as a stream technician for Trout Unlimited and the USFS in 2021 researching the distribution and abundance of the Endangered Candy Darter in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. In 2022, he was a fisheries technician for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in Cody, Wyoming. His master's research at Purdue will focus on an acoustic fish tracking project in the Chicago Area Waterways.

Max completed his undergraduate education at the University of Virginia in 2022, earning both a BS in Environmental Sciences and a BA in Environmental Thought and Practice. Following graduation, he worked as a research technician specializing in aquatic ecology and fisheries biology at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), stationed at the Sam Parr Biological Field Station. During his time at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), Max conducted research on sportfish ecology in southern and central Illinois and participated in behavioral assays focused on the Lepomis genus. Max's research at Purdue will focus on studying the different ecotypes of Lake Trout found at Klondike Reef, an important spawning reef located in Lake Superior.

Dominique completed her BS in Fisheries and Wildlife at Purdue University in 2016 and her MS in Biological Sciences at Western Illinois University in 2020. After graduation, she worked as a Large River Research Ecologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey – Illinois River Biological Station researching invasive carp in the Upper Mississippi River. Dominique’s previous research experiences focused on river ecology, aquatic invasive species management, and telemetry to evaluate fish movements. Dominique serves as a Purdue FNR Aquatic Ecology Research Scientist and as Great Lakes Science Liaison for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) focusing on supporting and leading various Great Lakes research projects and contributing to IISG’s outreach and engagement program.

Les completed his BS in Ecology and Environmental Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2015. After graduation, he started his MS at St. Cloud State University, MN in Aquatic Toxicology and Ecology Biology. His master's thesis research focused on contamination from septic systems around Minnesota lake shores and the biological effects on adult and larval Bluegill sunfish and fathead minnows. Les's PhD work at Purdue will focus on investigating larval Alewife recruitment from near-shore and tributary habitats in Lake Michigan.