Megan Lee

(she/her/hers)
PhD student
meganmlee at uga.edu

Megan joined the Shariat lab as a PhD student in 2024 and is studying Salmonella in cattle. Previously, she worked as an associate scientist at RWDC Industries and as a laboratory instructor at Goucher College. Her prior academic research encompasses ecological work in the Chesapeake Bay and ecotoxicology in seagulls on the Svalbard archipelago. She has particular interest in zoonotic disease under climate change, human-environment interfaces, and polar science. Outside of science, she enjoys creative writing, lyra classes, and trying to keep her cat Hilda out of trouble.

Fun Fact: “I was a competitive ice dancer as a teenager.”

Education and Training

MSc: Environmental Toxicology. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
BA: Biological Sciences. Goucher College, Baltimore, MD

Publications

Lundgren, S. S., Abbasi, N. A., Waugh, C. A., Lee, M. M., Ciesielski, T. M., Gabrielsen, G. W., Descamps, S., & Jaspers, V. L. B. (2024). Metals and other trace elements in plasma and feathers of seabirds breeding in Svalbard. The Science of the total environment, 952, 175895.

Lee, M. M. & Jozwick, A. K. S. Get a Chemical Clue. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (2022).

Lee, M. M., Jaspers, V. L. B., Gabrielsen, G. W., Jenssen, B. M., Ciesielski, T. M., Mortensen, Å. K., Lundgren, S. S., & Waugh, C. A. (2020). Evidence of avian influenza virus in seabirds breeding on a Norwegian high-Arctic archipelago. BMC veterinary research, 16(1), 48.

Jozwick, A. K. S. & Lee, M. M. Mitochondrial Mysteries – Solved! National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (2020).

Lee, M. M., Jaspers, V. L. B., Løseth, M. E., Briels, N., Nygård, T., Bustnes, J. O., & Waugh, C. A. (2019). No evidence of avian influenza antibodies in two species of raptor nestlings inhabiting Norway. BMC veterinary research, 15(1), 375.

Presentations

The impact of heavy metals and organochlorines on pathogen prevalence in an Arctic seabird (talk). Norwegian Environmental Toxicology Symposium. March 2018. Longyearbyen, Norway.
Best Presentation by a Master’s Student

The impact of pollution of pathogen prevalence in an arctic seabird (poster). Svalbard Science Conference. November 2017. Oslo, Norway.
Won 2nd place for Poster Presentation

Comparison of plant-herbivore interactions in identified native and invasive Phragmites australis (poster). Landmark Summer Research Symposium. July 2014. Huntingdon, PA.

Awards

  • Beef Industry Safety Summit Student Travel Scholarship. April 2025.
  • Co-recipient of Crosby Grant. Goucher College. January 2020.
  • Co-recipient of Crosby Grant. Goucher College. May 2019.
  • Best Presentation by a Master’s Student. Norwegian Environmental Toxicology Symposium. March 2018.
  • Runner-Up, Best Poster by an Early Career Researcher. Svalbard Science Conference. November 2017.
  • Recipient of Arctic Field Grant. Research Council of Norway. January 2017.
  • Inducted to Phi Beta Kappa. Goucher College. May 2015.
  • Recipient of Tillie Snyder Schonfield ‘36 Prize in Biology. Goucher College. May 2015.
  • Co-recipient of Mary Ross Flowers ‘28 Award in Astronomy. Goucher College. May 2014.
  • Recipient of Dean’s Scholarship. Goucher College. 2011 – 2015.

Teaching Experience

  • Laboratory Instructor/Coordinator at Goucher College, 2018-2020