University of South Carolina

Peng Lab in Marine Microbial Ecology


Xuefeng "Nick" Peng

Assistant Professor, School of Earth, Ocean and Environment

Ph.D. in Geosciences, Princeton University
B.A. in Environmental Studies, Connecticut College
B.A. in Economics, Connecticut College

CV, Google Scholar


Madeleine Thompson

Madeleine received her B.S. in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University at Galveston. She likes to travel and scuba dive. She also loves to cook and adventure outdoors!

Email: mthomposon@seoe.sc.edu


Birch Lazo-Murphy

Birch received his B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Syracuse University. He enjoys cooking, painting, and staying active by biking, skating, or playing soccer.

Email: blmurphy@seoe.sc.edu


Margaret Bernish

Margaret received her B.S. in Quantitative Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She enjoys traveling and baking, as well as spending time with her dog, Sunny.

Email: mbernish@seoe.sc.edu



Samantha Larson

Samantha is an Honors College senior with a major in Environmental Science. She was the captain of the Quidditch team at the University of South Carolina.


Julianne McHenry

Julianne is a senior with a major in Marine Science. She is the Vice President of the SCUBA Club. She enjoys swimming, scuba diving, hiking, and traveling.


Sydney Staines

Sydney is an Honors College junior with a major in Marine Science. She likes going to the beach, reading, and spending time with her dog.


Lily Bosch

Lily is an Honors College sophomore with a major in Environmental Science and minor in Spanish. She enjoys hiking, playing with her dogs, and going to the beach.


Liam Kellogg

Liam is an Honors College sophomore with a major in Marine Science. He enjoys fishing, backpacking, traveling, and cooking.


Dylan Lane

Dylan received his BS in Biology with a minor in Marine Science from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina. He enjoys fishing, hiking, and interacting with wildlife.



Heather Bruck

Heather is an Honors College senior with a major in Biology. She is working on her Honors Thesis "Do habitat characteristics correlate with the intensity of egg-predator (Carcinonemertes conanobrieni) infestation on the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus)?" in the Dudycha Lab.