Team

Aneesh Chandel

Aneesh earned his master’s degree in Agricultural Regulations from University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Currently, he is a graduate teaching assistant in Department of Biological Sciences and worked as a PhD student in ECOSS. His research focuses on understanding soil carbon dynamics, synthesis of soil carbon model incorporating Read more…
By Stephanie Mayer, ago

Pete Chuckran

Research Interests Chuckran’s research is largely focused on the gene expression of soil microbial communities during the nitrogen cycle. By isolating the RNA for a soil community, referred to as the metatranscriptome, it is possible to gain an understanding of gene expression at a given time point. Through incubation, greenhouse, Read more…
By Ecoss, ago

Carla A. Crespo

Carla Ayala Crespo works as a master’s student in Dr. Jane Marks Stream Ecology Laboratory at NAU.  Her research interests include leaf litter dynamics in streams, ecological restoration of streams, aquatic biogeochemistry, and fish biology, among other topics. Full Curriculum Vitae
By Stephanie Mayer, ago

Raina Fitzpatrick

Raina’s focus lies at the intersection of ecology in chemistry. She is interested in how microbes mediate elemental cycling and what drives these processes. She hopes to learn how microbes transform a suite of nutrients and other substrates and what this means for global elemental cycles. Full Curriculum Vitae
By Stephanie Mayer, ago

Megan Foley

Megan is interested in microbial population-level dynamics within complex soil communities. She is motivated to research microbial dynamics and eco-physiological traits in terms of how they may relate to carbon cycling. More broadly, she is interested in nearly anything related to microbes, ecosystems, or biogeochemistry.   Full Curriculum Vitae
By Stephanie Mayer, ago

Perry Giambuzzi

Perry’s research seeks to elucidate the drivers of autumn phenology among trees and forecast how phenological dates might shift under climate change. Full Curriculum Vitae Selected Publications Fitzpatrick, L., Giambuzzi, P.J. et al. (2021) Improving phenology predictions for sparsely observed species through fusion of botanical collections and citizen-science. Climate Change Read more…
By Stephanie Mayer, ago

Keven Griffen

Keven is a PhD student coadvised by Dr. Matt Bowker and Dr. Anita Antoninka. She is interested in how communities respond to disturbance in extreme environments, and her research is primarily focused on using biological soil crusts for restoration applications, their tolerances for extreme environments, and their responses to global Read more…
By Stephanie Mayer, ago

Satya Kent

Satya is broadly interested in biogeochemical transformations of carbon in anaerobic ecosystems and how these pathways are altered under interacting facets of climate change. Currently, she is using quantitative isotope probing (qSIP) to understand microbial metabolisms and methane dynamics in wetlands of the future.   Full Curriculum Vitae
By Stephanie Mayer, ago