Organizers

she/her/hers

ashley.wojciechowski@ku.edu

Twitter: @Ashley_Woj

Ashley is a 3rd year Ph.D. Candidate in the Baer Ecology Lab studying how soil heterogeneity influences plant community and nutrient dynamics in restored prairie. Ashley attended a small liberal arts college in Naperville, IL called North Central College where she was actively involved with undergraduate research. Ashley attended MEEC 2019 in person at Indiana State University as an undergraduate and MEEC 2021 virtually hosted by NIU as a graduate student. Ashley was thrilled to lead the charge advocating for KU EEB to host and bring MEEC to Kansas for its very first time. Ashley is lead organizer and is involved with all aspects of MEEC 2022 but especially managing the MEEC email. She enjoys cooking/baking, spending time with her cat, being outdoors and co-managing the KU Community Garden.

they/them/theirs

reb.bryant@ku.edu

Twitter: @MycorReb

Reb is a 2nd year PhD student in the Bever/Schultz Lab researching the use of mycorrhizal fungi to promote plant biodiversity in prairie restorations. They are also interested in ways to improve human-land relationships through ecological restoration projects. When not at their desk or becoming tick fodder in the field, Reb enjoys wandering around outside, reading sci-fi, and struggling to keep non-work plants alive. Reb attended MEEC for the first time in 2021 and is excited to coordinate social media and other aspects of the second virtual meeting in 2022!

she/her/hers

burrill.haley@ku.edu

Twitter: @haley_burrill

Haley is a 2nd year PhD student in the Bever/Schultz lab. In 2018 Haley moved from the Western US to the middle of the country to study the role of soil-borne plant pathogens in driving plant community diversity. Summer 2020, Haley finished her master’s degree doing just that and, after digging through the prairie dirt those 2 years, decided to keep going with her PhD in the same lab. Now she is exploring the interactions of other microbial groups (fungi, bacteria, oomycetes, and specifically arbuscular mycorrhizae) with plants and how they play a role in shaping plant communities. Her research interests span to restoration and conservation, with hopes to use her findings in plant-microbial research to contribute to more effective practices in these fields. Haley’s non-research interests (also called “hobbies”) include rock climbing, yoga, making fermented foods, and hanging out with her blind cat.

she/her/hers

keckhoff22@gmail.com

Twitter: @EckhoffKatie

Katie is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Baer Ecology Lab, studying how the restoration of degraded landscapes affects plant and soil communities as well as ecosystem functioning. Her dissertation research focuses on how climate at the beginning of tallgrass prairie restoration can create long-term effects on the restoration trajectories of plant and soil communities. Midwest born and raised she was able to get involved with undergraduate research and attend numerous conferences in undergrad as well as more recently in grad school. While this is her first MEEC, she is excited that MEEC has come to Kansas and will be the programming co-coordinator for the conference. She enjoys reading (for fun!), traveling, and taking her very cute, very energetic dogs on long hikes.

she/her/hers

rachelneff@ku.edu

Twitter: @Rachel_n_19

Rachel Neff is a Master’s student in Andrew Shorts lab studying the systematics and biogeography of a neotropical water beetle lineage across a range of hierarchical scales. She also has a strong interest in genomics and bioinformatics. Before coming to KU, Rachel was very involved with freshwater ecological research at her undergrad institution, Xavier University. In her third year of undergrad, she got to present at her first scientific conference, the MEEC 2018 meeting at Michigan State University. Rachel is super excited to experience MEEC from the other side, and will be helping to organize the workshops and invited speakers for MEEC 2022. When not doing research, she enjoys getting involved in outreach, getting out in nature, jogging, cooking, and hanging out with her cat, Crunchwrap Supreme.

she/her/hers

nikkidyannerealubit@ku.edu

Twitter: @dyannerealubit

Nikki is a Master’s student in the Brown Lab currently studying the phylogeny and biogeography of Philippine snakes. She is also an active conservationist with her own not-for-profit organization called Buhay-ilang (Wildlife) Research, Education, and Conservation, Inc. She is also a dedicated mentor to Filipino undergraduate and high school students for biodiversity research and conservation and was thrilled to have the opportunity to practice her skills for MEEC 2021. Nikki is excited to be speaker and workshop coordinator for MEEC 2022. She enjoys reading epic fantasy novels, sports climbing, yoga and examining snake specimens for hours at a time.

he/him/his

n.c.weickert@ku.edu

Nathaniel is a Master’s Student in the Baer Ecology lab studying the community assembly and outcomes of tallgrass prairie restoration. He is interested in applying research to ecosystem restoration work and conservation practices. A Native of Northern Illinois, he worked at Nachusa Grasslands in Franklin Grove as a seasonal crew leader from 2018-2019, where his love of prairie plants flourished. He has been loving it here in Kansas where the prairie is far more abundant than it is in Illinois. This is his first MEEC and he is excited to meet other grad students from all over and see what awesome research they are doing. He enjoys reading good fiction/fantasy, hiking through nature, nerding out about plants, and playing dungeons and dragons.

she/her/hers

naomibetson@ku.edu

Naomi is a fourth year PhD student in Bryan Foster's lab studying plant community ecology. Her research focuses on how different seeding methods affect coexistence, biodiversity, and forb phenology in tallgrass prairie restorations. This is her first MEEC, and she's looking forward to helping with abstracts and the conference program. When she's not staring at plants, or at data about plants, she enjoys cooking, reading, and playing video games.

she/her/hers

kaylamclouse@ku.edu

Twitter: @kaylamclouse

Kayla is a third-year PhD student in Maggie Wagner's lab in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research. Her research focuses on the impact of soil microorganisms, especially nitrogen-fixing bacteria, on maize's growth and development. This will be her first MEEC and she's looking forward to helping with conference hosting. In her free time, Kayla likes fostering animals, gardening, and playing games.

they/he

nat.coombs@ku.edu

Twitter: @coombs_nat

Nat is a first year PhD student in the Reuman lab, and they’re currently working on developing tools to quantify and compare similarity of movement between individual fish using acoustic telemetry data, but they have dabbled in various spatial and temporal aspects of synchrony in ecological systems. When not acting as a code gremlin for fun and funding, Nat noodles around with musical programming tools and cooks.

she/her/hers

khgaines@ku.edu

Karen is in the final year of her Master’s degree at KU. She studies the ecology of dragonflies and damselflies (the Odonata) and is interested in biogeography, food web ecology, and biodiversity conservation. When not strolling around ponds looking for odonates, Karen enjoys hanging out with friends far and near (from a safe distance), wandering around photographing critters to post on iNaturalist (nerd!), and daydreaming about being able to travel freely again (sigh…).

he/him/his

m.jones@ku.edu

Twitter: @therealmfj

Matt is a sixth-year PhD student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum. He is a vertebrate paleontologist who studies the fossil record of early mammals immediately following the end-Cretaceous extinction. Most of his research focuses on understanding the origins and diversification of the earliest bats. When not doing research, you can find him trying new craft beers, playing drums, or consuming comic book-inspired media.

she/her/hers

annaklompen@ku.edu

Twitter: @GelatinousSting

Anna is a fifth year PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Her research is on jellyfish venoms, and focuses on how ecological roles alter the venom composition of different species across complex life history traits (i.e. does a venom for eating look the same as a venom for defense in the same animal?). When not taking care of the jellies, she is often talking about how cool these animals are with the Lawrence and Kansas City communities. This will be Anna’s first MEEC and she is looking forward to learning more about the conference!

he/him/his

tkksharif@ku.edu

Twitter: @tkksharif

Sharifu Kiragga Tusuubira is a third year PhD candidate in the Kelly Lab studying the genomic basis of mating system evolution in M. guttatus. Sharifu spends most of his free time playing Archery and enjoying walks by the river. This will be Sharifu’s first MEEC and he is looking forward to learning more about the conference!