Graduate Research Assistant
Cornell University
Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology
Ithaca, NY 14853
August 2006 -present, PhD student, Fungal and Oomycete Biology; Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University
2003 -BS Environmental and Forest Biology (magna cum laude) State University of New York college of Environmental Science and Forestry
Graduate Advisor: Teresa Pawlowska
Research Focus
My research will focus on Common Mycorrhizal Networks (CMN)of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF).The AMF are obligately biotrophic and generally mutualistic symbionts that associate with the roots of most land plants. It is likely that the same fungal thallus may be associated with multiple plants simultaneously. I intend to explore whether this is the case in certain agricultural settings, and if so, what the implications are for C and nutrient dynamics in these systems.
Professional Experience
During my undergraduate education, I served as a teaching assistant for multiple courses, including Dendrology, Ecosystems Science, and Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy. In addition, I worked as a part time lab assistant in two molecular biology labs. At Cornell, I have been a TA for Introductory Soil Science, and a Graduate Research Assistant in Crop and Soil Sciences. My MS in SoilScience is pending (this summer).
Awards and Honors
Nov. 2005; 1st Place, Graduate Student Poster Competition, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Annual Meeting of the Soil Science Society of America , Crop Science Society of America , and American Society of Agronomy.
Dec. 2005; Invited Graduate Student Representative, National Academy of Sciences Frontiers in Soil Science Research Workshop.
Apr. 2007; Research Grant Award, CU NSF IGERT program in Biogeochemistry and Environmental Biocomplexity, Graduate Student Small Grant Program.
Elected and Appointed Offices
Mar 2007- Present–President, Board of Directors, Project Growing Hope and the Ithaca Community Gardens, a local non-profit organization.