|
I graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelors of Science and a Doctorate in Biology. My PhD research, which I completed in the laboratory of my advisor Dr. Stephen DiFazio, had a community genetics emphasis and explores the effects of a host plant's genes on assemblages and distributions of herbivore insects, pollinators, and pathogens in Poplar and Willow trees. Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher at West Virginia University in the Department of Biology.
|
Key Skills:
Next Gen Sequencing Core Technician, DNA and RNA library preparation, R, Field Technician Key Interests:
plant and community genetics, entomology, pollinator biology, quantitative ecology |
Latest News
22 May, 2024
Summer research plans include putting in a local clone bank of Salix nigra (black willow) trees at the Emory & Henry University Bartlett-Crowe Field Station. We will be planting 60 genotypes of S. nigra sampled from 5 different states to create pollinator habitat in the field station wetlands. The site will also generate tissue for experiments ranging from mycorrhizal fungal associations, pollinator attraction, and the impact on Cambarus dubius (upland burrowing crayfish) activity/habitat! Enjoy our before and after photos removing multifloral rose, blackberry, and swamp rose from the field site.
Summer research plans include putting in a local clone bank of Salix nigra (black willow) trees at the Emory & Henry University Bartlett-Crowe Field Station. We will be planting 60 genotypes of S. nigra sampled from 5 different states to create pollinator habitat in the field station wetlands. The site will also generate tissue for experiments ranging from mycorrhizal fungal associations, pollinator attraction, and the impact on Cambarus dubius (upland burrowing crayfish) activity/habitat! Enjoy our before and after photos removing multifloral rose, blackberry, and swamp rose from the field site.
|
|
|
15 March, 2024 Check out our new publication in the scientific journal New Phytologist where we studied the genetic factors in Populus trichocarpa (black cottonwood) that structure the community of insects a tree attracts! With the use of single-train and multi-trait genome wide association analyses (GWAS) we were able to pinpoint candidate genes controlling the interactions between trees and the insects identified via surveys in 2012 and 2015 in Oregon. With the use of functional networks we were able to additionally characterize the potential molecular function of our identified genes. The article can be found here - https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19660 |
|
|
30 May, 2023 WVU isn't getting rid of me quite yet! I have accepted a remote postdoctoral research position to help finish generating data for several of the DiFazio lab projects. I'm excited to get back in the lab/field and pick up some new bioinformatic skills! We will be focused on finalizing the fieldwork measurements for a Populus drought stress experiment and building sequencing libraries to identify the sex determining regions (SDRs) in 4 different species of Salix and Populus! |
12 August, 2022
Looks like we are on our way into another transition. My fiancé Dr. Mark Burnham has accepted a tenure track position in the Biology and Environmental Department at Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia! This upcoming fall will be my last semester teaching at West Virginia Institute of Technology . I have loved working with my colleagues in the Biology Department, my time teaching, and doing research with WVU Tech's students. I'm looking forward to continuing the collaborations I have found in Beckley and seeing what the future has in store for my career and research!
Looks like we are on our way into another transition. My fiancé Dr. Mark Burnham has accepted a tenure track position in the Biology and Environmental Department at Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia! This upcoming fall will be my last semester teaching at West Virginia Institute of Technology . I have loved working with my colleagues in the Biology Department, my time teaching, and doing research with WVU Tech's students. I'm looking forward to continuing the collaborations I have found in Beckley and seeing what the future has in store for my career and research!
|
|
15 June, 2022
I'm excited to be helping collect tissue from Rhododendron catawbiense (Catawba rhododendron) and Rhododendron maximum (Great rhododendron) for Dr. Giullaume Decocq at Universite de Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens, France. Dr. Decoq's lab is interested in understanding the origins of the invasive Rhododendron ponticum (Common rhododendron) and are working on investigating the phylogeny of the group. It's a great opportunity for me to also go out and explore some new state parks in the process!
I'm excited to be helping collect tissue from Rhododendron catawbiense (Catawba rhododendron) and Rhododendron maximum (Great rhododendron) for Dr. Giullaume Decocq at Universite de Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens, France. Dr. Decoq's lab is interested in understanding the origins of the invasive Rhododendron ponticum (Common rhododendron) and are working on investigating the phylogeny of the group. It's a great opportunity for me to also go out and explore some new state parks in the process!
15 May, 2022
One of the characteristics I love the most about working with black willow (Salix nigra) is how easy it is to cultivate and study the trees from my sampling sites in the greenhouse. Right now we have a small population sprouting that I will be collecting tissue for students to extract DNA from in the fall semester. We will be able to assess the genetic diversity of the population right on campus! Only downside so far is those pesky spider mites that love greenhouse plants.
One of the characteristics I love the most about working with black willow (Salix nigra) is how easy it is to cultivate and study the trees from my sampling sites in the greenhouse. Right now we have a small population sprouting that I will be collecting tissue for students to extract DNA from in the fall semester. We will be able to assess the genetic diversity of the population right on campus! Only downside so far is those pesky spider mites that love greenhouse plants.
|
|
|
11 April, 2022
I'm having a great time germinating garden plants in the WVU Tech greenhouse! We have wildflowers, sunflowers, Four O-clock seedlings, various spices (catnip, oregano, cilantro, dill), butternut squash, miniature white pumpkins, and Jack O'lantern pumpkins. The WVU Tech Biology Club will be doing a free give away of our plants in the library next week! |
|
|
01 December, 2021
Check out our recent publication in Global Change Biology - Bioenergy where we explored nitrification dynamics in the rhizosphere of energy sorghum! Nitrification is a process performed by soil microbes that produces nitrate, which can then leach out of the soil and degrade the quality of groundwater. Sorghum has some interesting effects on those microbes in the rhizosphere (narrow region of soil directly surrounding roots), which we studied in 2018 and 2019 at the University of Illinois Energy Farm. This is my first collaboration and publication with Dr. Mark Burnham. The open access article can be found here- https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12917 |
|
|
29 October, 2021
The WVU Tech hosts a Trunk-or-Treat right on campus which was a perfect opportunity for us to test out our Pumpkin Jamboree show before our neighborhood trick-or-treating. We had a blast and must have given out candy to over 300 kids! The Biology club organizes the event every year and they did a fantastic job! 
|
|
|
06 September, 2021
We got a beautiful day to collect willow leaves at the Morris Creek Watershed! I am planning on establishing several sampling sites in southern West Virginia to continue my pollinator work next spring. I'm interested to see how the insect community here compares to the work I completed for my dissertation in the WVU Core Arboretum. |
|
04 September, 2021
I got to check out an outdoor lab that is a part of the WVU Tech Ecology course (BIOL 466). The course is taught by the chair of the department Dr. Deborah Beutler! Dr. Beutler's research is focused on monitoring the health of the Morris Creek Watershed which has been heavily impacted by the effects of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). She assesses the effects of volunteer led reclamation through collections of water chemistry data (including pH and concentrations of metals) as well as surveying for fish and aquatic arthropods. The photos below show WVU Tech students collecting that data!
I got to check out an outdoor lab that is a part of the WVU Tech Ecology course (BIOL 466). The course is taught by the chair of the department Dr. Deborah Beutler! Dr. Beutler's research is focused on monitoring the health of the Morris Creek Watershed which has been heavily impacted by the effects of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). She assesses the effects of volunteer led reclamation through collections of water chemistry data (including pH and concentrations of metals) as well as surveying for fish and aquatic arthropods. The photos below show WVU Tech students collecting that data!
18 August, 2021
Getting started with my first semester! Can you tell what I will be teaching?
Getting started with my first semester! Can you tell what I will be teaching?
02 July, 2021
We had a fantastic group of graduate and undergraduate student this summer. I'm really lucky to have gotten the chance to work with this team for my final field season in the Kent Lab! I'm going to miss it here but I'm excited to begin my new position as an Assistant Professor of Biology at West Virginia University Institute of Technology in the Fall!
We had a fantastic group of graduate and undergraduate student this summer. I'm really lucky to have gotten the chance to work with this team for my final field season in the Kent Lab! I'm going to miss it here but I'm excited to begin my new position as an Assistant Professor of Biology at West Virginia University Institute of Technology in the Fall!
23 June, 2021
We are all getting ready to begin the summer field chaos in the Kent Lab!
We are all getting ready to begin the summer field chaos in the Kent Lab!
24 May, 2021
I just wanted to post a few more field photos of Asarum shuttleworthii in the field for everyone's viewing pleasure.
I just wanted to post a few more field photos of Asarum shuttleworthii in the field for everyone's viewing pleasure.
|
|
|
18 May, 2021
Spending the week at Highlands Biological Station with Dr. Brandon Sinn testing out some pollinator cameras he constructed in collaboration with Monika Roznere. We are getting started by trying to capture the elusive pollinators of Asarum shuttleworthii in the field on film!
Spending the week at Highlands Biological Station with Dr. Brandon Sinn testing out some pollinator cameras he constructed in collaboration with Monika Roznere. We are getting started by trying to capture the elusive pollinators of Asarum shuttleworthii in the field on film!
|
|
|
04 May, 2021
The third chapter of my dissertation "Characterization of Salix nigra floral insect community and activity of three native Andrena bees" has been accepted and published in the Wiley journal Ecology and Evolution! You can check it out here- https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7369 
|
|
19 March, 2021
One aphid and mite outbreak later and we are getting close to harvest! Looks pretty good for a first attempt in my opinion. Shoutout to Mark Burnham for helping me reach the flowers on the taller plants.
One aphid and mite outbreak later and we are getting close to harvest! Looks pretty good for a first attempt in my opinion. Shoutout to Mark Burnham for helping me reach the flowers on the taller plants.
|
|
24 February, 2021
We have a few funny looking flowers on some of our corn tillers! These particular genotypes are hybrids between corn (Zea mays) and wild teosinte which appears to be affecting the development you see in these photos. Instead of a male flower on the top of the plant there is a partially male and female flower!
We have a few funny looking flowers on some of our corn tillers! These particular genotypes are hybrids between corn (Zea mays) and wild teosinte which appears to be affecting the development you see in these photos. Instead of a male flower on the top of the plant there is a partially male and female flower!
|
|
5 January, 2021
Happy New Year! Checking up on the corn in the greenhouse for our new biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) breeding project!
Happy New Year! Checking up on the corn in the greenhouse for our new biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) breeding project!
|
|
6 August, 2020
I presented a poster entitled "Assessing the relationship between biological nitrification inhibition of field-grown sorghum and rhizosphere microbial communities" which demonstrated some of the collaborative work between the Dr. Angela Kent and Dr. Wendy Yang labs at the Ecological Society of America's (ESA) first ever virtual meeting!
I presented a poster entitled "Assessing the relationship between biological nitrification inhibition of field-grown sorghum and rhizosphere microbial communities" which demonstrated some of the collaborative work between the Dr. Angela Kent and Dr. Wendy Yang labs at the Ecological Society of America's (ESA) first ever virtual meeting!
|
4 August, 2020 My dissertation has been accepted at the WVU library which was my final step for graduation! I also just found out the University has a dashboard that shows how many times and where in the world my dissertation has been downloaded. |
|
27 April, 2020
The first chapter of my dissertation has been accepted and published in the Wiley journal Ecology and Evolution! We had an excellent experience with the editors and reviewers, who helped us to improve our models and bring the final version of my manuscript "Host plant genetic control of associated fungal and insect species in a Populus hybrid cross" to public and scientific audiences. Check it out here- DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6266 |
|
|
22 April, 2020
I just completed and passed my PhD dissertation defense!
I just completed and passed my PhD dissertation defense!
6 April, 2020
While we look for a home to publish my third dissertation chapter titled "Characterization of Salix nigra floral insect community and activity of three native Andrena bees" we have uploaded it for public access on bioRxiv as a preprint for anyone interested!
While we look for a home to publish my third dissertation chapter titled "Characterization of Salix nigra floral insect community and activity of three native Andrena bees" we have uploaded it for public access on bioRxiv as a preprint for anyone interested!
|
|
|
23 March, 2020
Staying positive amidst the pandemic! Also, congratulations Dr. Ashley Henderson on your successful dissertation defense! 
|
|
19 August, 2019
I just moved to Urbana-Champaign Illinois to work as a part-time field research technician in the laboratory of Dr. Angela Kent. I'm excited to begin collaboration on new projects while I finish my dissertation remotely! Angela has a wonderful group of talented technicians, post-doctorates, graduate, and undergraduate students working to harness the power of microbial ecology to maintain healthy and sustainable ecosystems in a diverse variety of habitats, from agriculture to turtle shells!
I just moved to Urbana-Champaign Illinois to work as a part-time field research technician in the laboratory of Dr. Angela Kent. I'm excited to begin collaboration on new projects while I finish my dissertation remotely! Angela has a wonderful group of talented technicians, post-doctorates, graduate, and undergraduate students working to harness the power of microbial ecology to maintain healthy and sustainable ecosystems in a diverse variety of habitats, from agriculture to turtle shells!
|
|
|
24 June, 2019
I had a lot of interesting disease and pest conversations at this evenings poster session at the IUFRO Tree Biotechnology Meeting. There are several free student-friendly guides to diseases and pests of Populus to start identifying some of the insects and fungi in plantation sites or even your own backyard trees. The two that I started out with for my plantation surveys include the USDA's "A Guide to Insect, Disease, and Animal Pests of Poplars" and the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) diagnostic manual "Diseases of Populus in British Columbia". The USDA guide is a wonderful resource for common insect pests and the CFS manual has some very detailed information and images of common fungal diseases and even a few insects whose symptoms may imitate fungal pathogens. If you haven't heard of these guides and are a fan of Poplar/Cottonwood trees I would recommend checking them out! |
|
3 May, 2019
I would have never thought that beavers would be a problem for my research. Rest in peace SN31F.
I would have never thought that beavers would be a problem for my research. Rest in peace SN31F.
|
|
|
|
28 April, 2019
The field season has begun! Starting my third year of Salix nigra pollinator surveys. Some pics of my hand collections and insect pins.
The field season has begun! Starting my third year of Salix nigra pollinator surveys. Some pics of my hand collections and insect pins.
|
|
|
|
16-17 March, 2019
I am glad to have had the opportunity to volunteer as an organizer for and attend the American Society of Plant Biologist (ASPB) Midwest Conference where I presented my Research Poster on work from my first dissertation chapter. I am thrilled to say that I left with an award for First Place for the graduate student category in Outstanding Poster Presentation and some new exciting collaborations!
I am glad to have had the opportunity to volunteer as an organizer for and attend the American Society of Plant Biologist (ASPB) Midwest Conference where I presented my Research Poster on work from my first dissertation chapter. I am thrilled to say that I left with an award for First Place for the graduate student category in Outstanding Poster Presentation and some new exciting collaborations!
15, September, 2019
I gave an invited talk on my work examining host tree genome structure in intervals that interact with biotic stressors at the WVU Department of Biology Fall Retreat and was awarded for the best Graduate Student Oral Presentation.
I gave an invited talk on my work examining host tree genome structure in intervals that interact with biotic stressors at the WVU Department of Biology Fall Retreat and was awarded for the best Graduate Student Oral Presentation.
22 October, 2018
I passed my dissertation proposal defense titled "Insect Interactions in the Salicaceae" and have moved onto the PhD candidate phase of my program!
I passed my dissertation proposal defense titled "Insect Interactions in the Salicaceae" and have moved onto the PhD candidate phase of my program!
5-10 August, 2018
I'm excited to attend the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Tree Resistance Workshop this week to present the preliminary finding of the first chapter of my dissertation titled "Using a pseudo-backcross poplar hybrid to explore host plant genetic control of associating fungal and insect species".
I'm excited to attend the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Tree Resistance Workshop this week to present the preliminary finding of the first chapter of my dissertation titled "Using a pseudo-backcross poplar hybrid to explore host plant genetic control of associating fungal and insect species".
|
|
|
