The Team
Vivienne Foroughirad - Principal Investigator
Vivienne is a behavioral ecologist interested in the fitness consequences of the social environment. Her research integrates genetics and long-term studies to characterize the evolutionary processes shaping patterns of variation in social structure across cetacean species. Vivienne earned her Ph.D. with Andy Read at the Duke University Marine Lab and then did a postdoc with Janet Mann at Georgetown University before moving to Galveston.
Email: vforough@tamug.edu
Bluesky: @vforoughirad.bsky.social
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Nikki Shintaku - PhD Student
Nikki is a PhD student in the Marine Biology program at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Her research interests include population genomics/genetics and behavioral ecology in bottlenose dolphins and how they inform marine conservation actions. She received a Master’s of Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from University of California, Davis. Go Aggies!
Emma Sardy - PhD Student
Emma is a PhD student in the Marine Biology program at Texas A&M University at Galveston. She is interested in using non-invasive genetic sampling to study bottlenose dolphin population health and to inform our understanding of their social networks. She graduated from Duke University in 2025 and worked as a research technician at the Duke Marine Lab until August 2026, studying goose-beaked whales and cephalopods in the deep sea using environmental DNA.
Lauryn Fly - Masters Student
Lauryn is a Masters student in the Marine Biology program at Texas A&M University at Galveston.
Paige Wright - Undergraduate Research Assistant
Paige is an undergraduate Marine Biology student at Texas A&M University at Galveston. She is interested in killer whale and overall marine mammal behavior. She plans to continue her education after undergrad with a masters, and pursue a career focusing on cetacean behavior.
Ray Davis - Undergraduate Technician
Ray is an undergraduate Marine Biology student at Texas A&M University at Galveston. He has interests in cetacean cognition and behavior, and how they may relate to age-related conditions. After completing his undergraduate degree, he plans to continue his education with a PhD, and pursue research on the links between cetacean behavior and neurological health.
Samantha Arce - Undergraduate Research Assistant
Samantha is an undergraduate Marine Biology major at Texas A&M UniversityGalveston. She is interested in cetacean behavior, specifically bottlenose dolphin infanticide rates. After undergrad, she plans to continue her education with a masters and pursue research on odontocete behavior.
Alumni
Ashley Rogers - Masters ‘2026
Camari Knox - Undergraduate ACES scholar ‘2026
Dylan Hankins - Undergraduate ACES scholar ‘2026
Madison Ealey - Undergraduate Technician 2024
Julianna Rosales - Undergraduate Technician 2024-2025
Zoe Olson - Undergraduate Technician and Undergraduate Research Scholar 2024-2025
Ava Reynolds - Undergraduate Technician 2024-2026