Dr. Viorel Popescu, Lab PI, Lecturer and Director of Master of Science Program in Biodiversity Data Analytics (v.popescu@columbia.edu; download CV here). I am a broadly trained ecologist and environmental scientist from Romania, who accidentally fell into conservation biology. I love herps and cuddling with large carnivores and I spend too much time doing stats. I enjoy spelling trouble for grad students and teaching conservation and ecology classes, and working with conservation practitioners.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Arel Triyono, MA student, 2024-present; Arel is a Master’s student from Jakarta, Indonesia and obtained his BS from US Santa Cruz. He has explored several research topics in herpetology including, captive breeding, habitat ecology, and conservation. In this lab, he is interested in researching hellbender ecology for his Master’s thesis. Outside of herpetology, Arel loves playing football and badminton, cooking, and has recently picked up an interest in birding and wildlife photography.
Adrian Casanova, MA student, 2024-present; Adrian is a first year Master’s student who is passionate about wildlife ecology, management and conservation. His experiences and research endeavors on natural resource monitoring throughout South Florida and the Caribbean have strengthened his aspirations in becoming an ecologist. He is interested in wildlife management strategies and solutions, particularly in tropical systems. Outside of his academic pursuits, Adrian loves hiking, playing volleyball, and traveling around the world.
Hannah Hess, MA student, 2024-present; Hannah hails from rural Pennsylvania and has a BS degree from Duke. She has broad interests in mammalian population ecology and is particularly interested in the cascading ecological effects caused by human-wildlife interactions. She enjoys connecting with nature through wildlife photography, hiking, and rock climbing, and she will never say no to the opportunity to travel somewhere new. At home, you will either find her crafting or cooking up a delicious dinner or dessert for her friends!
Matt Huang, MA student, 2025-present; Matt hails from Upstate New York, where he has spent many years contributing to freshwater turtle conservation. As a Cornell graduate, Matt’s interests span wildlife ecology and conservation, and he is interested in exploring the mechanisms and conditions triggering nest abandonment and filial cannibalism in Eastern Hellbenders. When Matt is not in E3B, you can probably find him climbing some rocks!
Luveen Wadhwani, MA student, 2025-present;
Brigitte Harbers, MA student, 2024-present; Brigitte is a Master’s student from New York, NY. Her research focuses on disease ecology, particularly brucellosis transmission at the wildlife-livestock interface in Montana’s Paradise Valley. For her thesis, she is combining drone-based aerial surveys, AI-driven elk detection, and rancher-reported data to map elk distribution and identify areas of elevated spillover risk. Brigitte earned her BA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University, where she studied viral spillover in marine mammals. Outside of research, she has been a lifelong equestrian with experience ranging from international show jumping to ranching, a ski instructor, a Formula 4 driver, and an avid long-distance runner.
Soham Mehta, MA student, 2024-present;
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Peyton Munroe, Barnard College, Environmental Studies
Marcella Sophia Servedio Willett, Columbia University, Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology
Jillian Sullivan, Barnard College, Environmental Studies; Jillian is a senior at Barnard interested in wildlife conservation and ecology at the levels of species, populations, and communities. Her senior thesis in the BEAST Lab seeks to identify predictors of co-occurrence for mammalian mesocarnivores in order to better understand their strategies and conditions for coexistence. A native New Yorker, Jillian loves getting out of the city and into nature so she can nurse her healthy iNaturalist addiction.
Lab alumni
Graduate students
Dani Pergola (2023-25) – MA in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, Columbia University – Eastern Hellbender density and behavior
Henry Hardy (2023-25) – MA in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, Columbia University – bobcat and coyote co-occupancy in the Midwestern US
Jared Kannel (2023-25) – MA in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, Columbia University – effects of bison rewildling on habitat in the Romanian Carpathians
Courtney Silver-Peavey (2019-2024) – PhD in Biological Sciences, Ohio University – behavioral carryover effects of neonic pesticides in wood frogs
Lucy Holland (2022-2024) – MA in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, Columbia University – spatial ecology of translocated European Bison in the Romanian Carpathians
Sam Mathes (2022-2024) – MSc in Biological Sciences, Ohio University (current position: PhD student at Mississipi State University) – ecological and physiological effects of altered water quality on hellbender larvae
Dr. Matthew Kaunert (2017-2024) – PhD in Biological Sciences (current position: Director of the Clean Water Institute at Lycoming College, PA) – Eastern hellbender ecology, behavior and conservation (see Hellbent)
Dr. Marissa Dyck (2018-2023) – PhD in Biological Sciences, Ohio University (current position: Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Victoria, Canada) – bobcat population viability and mammalian intraguild interactions
Dr. Cassandra Thompson (2016-2022) – PhD in Biological Sciences, Ohio University (current position: Assistant Professor at Lees-McRae College, Banner Elk NC) – carryover effects of multiple stressors on ond-breeding amphibians
Ryan Brown (2020-2022) – MSc in Biological Sciences, Ohio University (current position: Biologist at Pheasants Forever and USDA-NRCS, Montoursville PA) – effects of elevated conductivity on hellbender eggs and larvae
Dr. Mihai Pop (2015-2019) – PhD at University of Bucharest, co-advised with Dr. Laurentiu Rozylowicz (current position: Senior Scientist at Association for Biodiversity Conservation, Romania) – brown bear ecology and management in Romania
Heidi Bencin (2016-2018) – MSc in Biological Sciences, Ohio University (current position: detection dog wildlife consultant, California) – bobcat occurrence and co-occurrence with coyotes, bobcat road mortality risk in Ohio
Marcel Weigand (2016-2018) – MSc in Biological Sciences, Ohio University (current position: Northeastern Ohio Conservation Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy) – impacts of roads on Eastern Box Turtles in Ohio
Eva Garcia – MSc student intern (University of Montpellier, France; March-August 2018) – road mortality in turtle populations
Postdocs
Dr. Iulia Miu (Oct 2023-March 2024) – Fulbright postdoctoral researcher, systematic conservation planning (current possition: Researcher, University of Bucharest, Romania)
Dr. Chris Baker (2019-2021) – Postdoctoral researcher; cosupervised with Dr. Naomi Pierce (Harvard University and Dr. Doug Yu, Kunming Institute of Zoology) – hierarchical modeling of enviromentla DNA data in Western China
Dr. Florina Stanescu (February-June 2018) – Fulbright postdoctoral researcher, amphibian development and climate change (current position: Research Associate, Ovidius University, Constanta)
Dr. Ruben Iosif (2015-17) – Postdoctoral researcher, hierarchical wildlife modeling (current position: Senior Scientist at Conservation Carpathia Foundation, Romania)
Undergraduate students
Ashlynn Canode, OHIO WIldlife and Conservation 2023 – bobcat toxicology (current position: MSc student at University of Florida)
Madeline Kenyon, HTC Biological Sciences 2023 – Honors Thesis: Developing monitoring protocols for beavers in Ohio (current position: MSc student in Public Health at Tufts University)
Andrew Connolly, Ohio Honors Program 2023 – Honors Thesis: Anuran community occupancy dynamics in Wayne National Forest (current position: Education Coordinator, Beardsley Zoo, Connecticut)
Paige Roswell, OHIO Honors Program 2023 (hellbender ecology research assistant)
Era Bakia, OHIO Wildlife and Conservation 2023 (carryober effects in amphibians research assistant)
Helena Littler, OHIO Biological Sciences major 2023 (hellbender ecology research assistant)
Sarah Romer, OHIO Wildlife and Conservation 2021 (hellbender ecology research assistant)
Ryan Wagner, OHIO Wildlife and Conservation 2020 – Honors Thesis: Snake road mortality hotspots in SE Ohio (current position: PhD student at Washington State University, Vancouver)
Megan Sweeney, OHIO Environmental Biology 2020 – Honors Thesis: Effects of Imidacloprid on larval wood frog behavior (current position: District Technician at Madison Soil and Water Conservation District, OH)
Andrew Travers, OHIO Wildlife and Conservation 2020 (hellbender ecology research assistant)
Noah Skinner, OHIO Wildlife and Conservation major 2018 (hellbender ecology research assistant)
Sanketh Menon, OHIO Biological Sciences 2020 (current position: The Nature Conservancy, Indiana)
Christine Hanson, OHIO Environmental Biology major 2019 (hellbender and bobcat ecology research assistant)
Julia Golias, OHIO Wildlife and Conservation 2019 (current position: Biologist at US Forest Service)
Kyle Brooks, OHIO Wildlife and Conservation 2017 (current position: Public Affairs Officer at US Forest Service, Wayne National Forest, OH)
Mackenzie Rich – HTC Biological Sciences 2017, Honors Thesis: Interactions between terrestrial carnivores in SE Ohio (current position: Biologist at California Fish and Game)
The BEAST Lab 