Hello! From a young age, I've loved spending time outdoors observing the plants and insects around me! This led me to become a population, community, and chemical ecologist. I am interested in understanding the factors driving variation in the outcomes of mutualisms, particularly in response to global change. I study this topic across a wide range of systems, including ant-hemipteran protection mutualisms, seed dispersal mutualisms, and bumble bee gut symbioses. I work at field stations in a number of ecosystems, from the mountains in Colorado, to temperate deciduous forests in the eastern U.S. and tropical forests in Costa Rica.
I am currently a USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Irvine, conducting research into biodiversity effects in bumble bee gut symbioses. I received my Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Irvine in 2019. My dissertation focused on the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on ant-hemipteran mutualisms. From 2020-2022, I worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at Virginia Tech, studying the chemical ecology of seed dispersal mutualisms. To learn more about my research, check out this recording of a recent seminar I gave at Chico State! When I'm not doing science, I love hiking, doing HIIT workouts, eating ice cream, playing board games, and playing with my dog. |