Fall 2025 CCEDS NRT Cohort

MEET THE 2025 CCEDS NRT SCHOLARS!

Skadi Kylander is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Biology, Biochemistry and Chemistry program within the Department of Biology at East Carolina University. She grew up in Minnesota, where she earned an AA with an emphasis on creative writing. She moved to eastern North Carolina with her family, and shortly thereafter earned a BS in biology with a minor in chemistry from Chowan University, where she was also first introduced to North Carolina’s coastal plain habitats and Prothonotary Warblers. She is currently in Dr. Michael Brewer’s lab, studying communities in Prothonotary Warbler nests using molecular techniques to catalog flora and fauna associated with this bird and investigate the role of nest composition in nest community development. Additionally, she is starting a project to contribute to passive education tools along nature trails.

Amelia Magee is an M.S. student in the Biology program at East Carolina University. They developed a passion for disease and parasite ecology during their time at the College of William and Mary, where they graduated in 2025 with a BS in Biology and a minor in English. Pursuit of that passion led them to their current research project: studying shrimp black gill disease (sBG) in penaeid shrimp. Specifically, their research aims to determine how environmental factors, such as temperature, salinity, and habitat type, drive patterns of sBG prevalence and severity across coastal North Carolina.

Katie Wagner is a master’s student in Public Administration within the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences. She is a graduate of East Carolina University with a BA in International Studies and Political Science. Her interest in collaborative governance and infrastructure resilience in rural communities guides her research on data-driven asset management and stormwater systems. In her free time, Katie enjoys reading, trying new recipes, and traveling. She plans to pursue a law degree after graduation.

Kelsey Coates is a PhD student studying Biology in the IDPBBC program. Growing up on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland inspired Kelsey’s love of wetlands and passion for environmental stewardship. Kelsey earned a BS in Environmental Science from Duquesne University. Her previous research focused on urban plant ecology, grassland plant ecology, and nutrient movement through wetland systems. Her desire to understand how plant communities interacted with microbial communities in soils led her to join Dr. Ariane Peralta’s microbial ecology lab at East Carolina University. Kelsey is currently developing her dissertation research on climate change effects on wetland plant and microbial communities.

Ellissa DeFeyter is a 2nd year M.S. Biology student in the Asch Lab. I was born and raised in NC but grew up going on several cross-country RV trips to see national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, and Rocky Mountain. I have always broadly been interested in nature, and in the ocean more specifically. My intended career goal after graduate school is to provide ecological research to help manage natural coastal/marine resources.

Carter Stancil is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Biology, Biochemistry, and Chemistry program at East Carolina University. She earned her BS degree in microbiology from Brigham Young University. She has always been passionate about the ocean, and despite growing up in the Midwest and attending a landlocked college, she pursued marine research during her undergraduate studies. While researching an invasive crab species, she became interested in the parasites she occasionally found during dissections. At East Carolina University, she has continued to deepen her love for parasites with her dissertation research focusing on an invasive parasitic barnacle. Her project focuses on examining the secondary range expansion of the barnacle and comparisons between the introduced and native ranges.