Daemen Biology alum, Charsie Yox, ‘24, co-authored a research paper published on November 28, 2024, in which she identified and named an aquatic isopod. 
Yox learned about the National Science Foundation (NSF) REU (research experiences for undergraduates) program through posters displayed across Daemen’s campus. She received a $6,000 stipend that enabled her to travel to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio during her sophomore year to conduct research.
“We looked at these itty-bitty aquatic isopods,” said Yox. “We were trying to figure out how exactly they dispersed across Ohio since they were found everywhere, so we wanted to take a closer look at their genetics.”
Yox and her research colleagues spent 12-hour days traveling all over Ohio and into parts of Kentucky culling streams, ponds, and smaller bodies of water for samples. “All of the isopods we found were genetically similar,” she said. “One of them was extremely different, but we didn’t know it at the time since other samples were still being sequenced.”
A few months after Yox returned to Buffalo, she received a surprising notification. “My mentor said they received the sequencing for the remaining species and one of them was a new species. Since I determined the location where we found the species and since I did the DNA extraction and shared it with the lab, I was asked to name the species and invited to be a collaborator on the paper.”
Yox named the species Lirceus Exohyalus (Outer Transparency). “The name needs to have meaning behind it, which is typically Latin- or Greek-based,” she said. “I chose this Latin name because the outline of the isopod’s exoskeleton was a bit transparent, which we hadn’t seen in other species.”
Yox’s favorite part of the project was the collection days. “I loved heading out to new locations, having a lab coat on, and working with specimens toward research.”
After graduation, Yox joined IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group in Buffalo as a laboratory analyst, specializing in food science and safety. “When I graduated, I wanted to make sure I was doing something that I liked and something that I’m proud of,” she said. “I want to help people and have an impact in people’s lives and make sure they’re safe. I know I am on the right path with IEH.”
Daemen made a significant impact on Yox. “If we compare who I was in my freshman year to who I am now after graduation, I am a completely different person. I have learned so much not just from classrooms, coursework and science, I have also learned many important life lessons.” She also credits her mentor, Dr. Domenic D’Amore, Associate Professor of Biology, for her growth while at the university. “He was so helpful and supportive of everything I was doing.”
The feeling is mutual. Although D’Amore wasn’t involved in Yox’s isopod research, he was her research mentor for her Natural Science senior thesis. “She did a fantastic project on the loss of teeth in dinosaurs and early birds, and this earned her the Outstanding Research Award in Spring of 2024. From working with her, I knew she would achieve great things, and naming a new species is a perfect example of this! The Natural Science department is very proud of her.”