Amanda Haponski is a Ph.D. student at the University of Toledo studying the population genetic structure of walleye. Her main interest is in how fine-scale temporal and spatial genetic structure and composition of Lake Erie spawning groups has changed with the introduction of invasive species, climate change, and harvesting.Amanda began her academic career as an undergrad at the University of Maine, studying marine biology. With a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates award in hand, she went to study the phylogenetics of the greenside darter with Carol Stepien, University of Toledo. This project sparked her interest in genetics, and formed the basis of her subsequent M.Sc. research.
Amanda, now hooked on population genetics and conservation of native fishes, stayed on to begin her dissertation on walleye.
Amanda has six publications, with three first-authored. Recently, she was awarded the International Association for Great Lakes Research Norman S. Baldwin Fishery Science Scholarship, Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research, NSF DeepFin Student Exchange Program Award, and a Smithsonian Institution Fellowship to support her studies.