Marine Toxicology Laboratory logo

Texas A&M University at Galveston

Marine Toxicology
Laboratory

P.I.: Dr. David Hala

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Explore Our Research Meet the Team

// latest news

News

Fall 2026

Dr. Zurisday Ramirez Mendoza will be joining the Hala Lab as a new member.

Read more →
Jun 8, 2026

Olivia Thibault successfully defends her PhD dissertation. Congratulations, Dr. Thibault!

Read more →
May 13, 2026

Asif Mortuza successfully defends his PhD dissertation. Congratulations, Dr. Mortuza!

Read more →
Dec 8, 2025

Daniel Kemp passes his preliminary exams and advances to PhD candidacy.

Read more →

// what we study

Research

// 01 · Analytical

Emerging Contaminants

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// 02 · Legacy

Legacy Pollutants

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// 03 · Omics

Metabolomics

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// 04 · Physiology

Vertebrate Endocrinology

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// 05 · Computational

Systems Biology

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// who we are

The Lab

Dr. David Hala

Dr. David Hala

Associate Professor of Marine Biology

Texas A&M University at Galveston

halad@tamug.edu  ·  409-740-4535

TAMUG Faculty Page Google Scholar Full Profile

My research program studies how environmental or anthropogenic stressors adversely impact organism fitness, such as survival, growth, and reproduction. Research questions of great interest to me include:

1) Understanding the structural underpinnings of transcriptional and biochemical networks that lend to susceptibility or robustness when perturbed.

2) Studying the comparative mechanisms of organismal adaptive potential under stress.

3) Developing and applying integrative methods to unite the multiple levels of biological complexity, to predict adverse effects from initiating events at the molecular level, to organismal and ecological levels.

Ultimately, these questions will contribute to a mechanistic understanding of adverse outcomes given targeted biomarker information and help to identify species susceptible to changing environmental conditions.

Environmental Toxicology Metabolic Biomarkers Endocrine Biomarkers Computational Biology

Education

PhD · Aquatic Ecotoxicology · Brunel University, U.K., 2007
MS · Aquatic Ecotoxicology · University of Plymouth, U.K., 2002
BS · Marine Biology & Oceanography · Bangor University, U.K., 2001

Courses Taught

MARB 406: Life in Extreme Environments
MARB 414: Toxicology
MARB 310: Introduction to Cell Biology

// Postdoctoral Researchers

ZR
Postdoctoral Researcher Joining Fall 2026
Dr. Zurisaday Ramirez Mendoza

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zramirez@tamu.edu

// PhD Candidates

Daniel Kemp
PhD Candidate Joined Fall 20XX
Daniel Kemp

Studying the developmental bioenergetics and physiology of larval southern flounder.

Bioenergetics Larval Flounder Physiology Development
danielkemp@tamu.edu Full Profile →
Carle Dugan
PhD Candidate Joined Fall 20XX
Carle Dugan

Using zebrafish as a model to evaluate the susceptibility of reproductive transcriptional regulatory networks to select endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Zebrafish EDCs Endocrine Disruption Transcriptomics
carle.dugan@tamu.edu Full Profile →

// PhD Students

Kylee Patterson
PhD Student Joined Fall 20XX
Kylee Patterson

Using metabolomics and microrespirometry to assess the effects of single or mixed PFAS on the metabolic physiology of larval and juvenile sheepshead minnows.

PFAS Metabolomics Sheepshead Minnow Physiology
kylee.patterson@tamu.edu Full Profile →
Joslyn Kent
PhD Student Joined Fall 20XX
Joslyn Kent

Quantifying PFAS body-burdens in fish and marine mammals, and using metabolomics to assess correspondence between high PFAS body-burdens and physiological effects on metabolism.

PFAS Marine Mammals Metabolomics Biomarkers
joslynkent@tamu.edu Full Profile →
Benji Lamp
PhD Student Joined Fall 2025
Benji Lamp

Integrating -Omic Data into constraints-based modeling frameworks to advance New Approach Methodologies.

Computational Systems-Toxicology Modeling Zebrafish -Omics
blamp25@tamu.edu Full Profile →
M. Chase Lawson
PhD Student Joined Fall 2025
M. Chase Lawson

Assessing persistent organic pollutant dynamics across biotic and abiotic matrices, and investigating organismal effects at molecular and physiological levels.

Environmental Toxicology Deep-Sea POPs Analytical Chemistry Physiology
mlawson19@tamu.edu Full Profile →

// Undergraduates & Interns

JR
Undergraduate Researcher Joined Fall 20XX
Fake Name

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fakename@tamu.edu

Lab Alumni

  • PhD 2026
    Dr. Olivia Thibault
    Studying the reproductive endocrinology and metabolic physiology of southern flounder.
  • PhD 2026
    Dr. Asif Mortuza
    Quantifying microplastics, PAHs, and PCBs in Matagorda Bay and Galveston Bay surface waters and biota; toxicological effects on early life-stage fish.
    Research Associate · Environmental Institute of Houston, UH Clear Lake
  • PhD 2024
    Dr. Yu Umeki
    Metabolic detoxification of legacy and emerging pollutants in the American alligator.
  • PhD 2023
    Dr. Rayna Nolen
    PFAS pollution in Galveston Bay; biomarkers of adverse effects in fish.
  • PhD 2021
    Dr. Patricia Faulkner
    American alligator endocrinology under environmental stress.
  • MS 2020
    Joshua Leleux
    PAH/PCB body-burdens and fatty acid biomarkers in Sabine Lake fish.
  • Postdoc 2017–2019
    Dr. Beatrice Hernout
    Metabolic network modeling and Gulf of Mexico aquatic toxicology.
    Now: Senior Scientist, Exponent.

// our work

Publications

View All 51 Publications →

// where we work

Facilities

// Computational Resources
Grace Supercomputer

Grace Supercomputer

Our lab runs high-throughput, high-complexity analyses on Grace, Texas A&M's flagship supercomputer. Grace is a workhorse, delivering 6.2 petaflops of processing power across over 45,000 cores. This gives us the capacity to make computations that would be out of reach on conventional hardware.

Optimization & Linear Programming

Much of our work is built on linear programming solvers, which define a biological system as a set of mathematical constraints and find optimal solutions. This lets us answer questions like "what is the maximum flux through a given reaction to achieve optimal metabolite production?"

Programming Languages

Our analyses are developed across R, Python, and MATLAB. R handles statistics and visualization, Python supports data processing and machine learning, and MATLAB serves as the backbone for metabolic modeling and simulation.

COBRA Toolbox

We use the COBRA Toolbox, an open-source MATLAB platform, to construct and interrogate genome-scale metabolic models through constraint-based reconstruction and analysis.

// Wet Laboratory
Fish Culture System

Fish Culture

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// Analytical Chemistry
GC-MS
LC-MS
Spectrophotometer
SpeedVac

GC-MS

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LC-MS

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Spectrophotometer

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SpeedVac

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// get in touch

We'd Love to Hear From You

The Marine Toxicology Laboratory actively collaborates with researchers, agencies, and institutions working at the intersection of environmental contamination, Gulf Coast ecology, and computational biology.

  • →Research collaborations & inter-institutional partnerships
  • →Gulf of Mexico field & analytical studies
  • →Media, outreach & science communication requests

Contact Dr. Hala

Dr. Hala is happy to discuss research questions, potential collaborations, and general inquiries about the Systems Toxicology Laboratory and its work.

Send an Email

Texas A&M University at Galveston · Department of Marine Biology

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