Urmi received her PhD in Ecology and Evolution from Stony Brook in 2025. She received her Masters in Biology at the Indian Institute for Science Education and Research - Pune, India in 2018. She is interested in understanding biological invasions, particularly plant invasions, from a community assembly point-of-view. In the lab, she uses community assembly models to explain the distribution and abundance of non-native and invasive species across natural and simulated plant communities. Her approach combines simulations and analysis of empirical data from different study systems and spatio-temporal scales, which is useful for understanding how the determinants of invasion vary across systems and scales. 

Carlos is a fifth-year PhD student in E&E. He received his Bachelor in Biology at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 2014. Since then he has worked on a range of different research topics including clinical research and behavioral ecology of Apis mellifera. In the lab, Carlos is combining modeling and experiments to investigate coexistence among social and solitary insect pollinators, and how that balance may be disrupted by the introduction of sublethal pathogens to pollinator communities. Carlos serves as the coordinator of the Aquatic Invasive Species program for Long Island at New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation. In his free time, Carlos likes to spend time in the City and designs automates systems using Raspberry Pi and other microcontroller devices.

Noah is a fourth-year PhD student in the Applied Math and Statistics program. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Michigan State University in 2021. He is interested in better understanding the processes that drive community assembly through theory and models, and in leveraging this knowledge to design quantitatively-supported conservation plans. He is particularly interested in how the spatial distribution of species affects the scaling of competitive interactions from individuals to populations. 

Sixto is a fifth-year PhD candidate in Ecology & Evolution, co-advised by Dr. Beth Watson. His research focuses on wetland and coastal ecology, specifically investigating marsh migration and forest dieback in response to sea level rise and disturbances such as storms and invasive species. He is also involved in science education research using qualitative methods. Originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sixto grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and developed an early interest in marine science and education. He earned his undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Hispanic Studies from Boston College. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, playing sports, and exploring cities and parks. 

Jack is a third-year PhD student in E&E, having joined our graduate program after double-majoring in Biology and Cinema from the University of Chicago and working as a lab tech at Purdue University. In the lab, Jack is interested in how genotypic and phenotypic variation within species, whether plastic or genetic, may affect competition for resources across species. A native of Pittsburgh, Jack is a diehard Steelers and Pirates fan, and an avid birder and bug hunter.

Athma joined us for two years, from 2021 to 2023. He is broadly interested in theoretical problems in ecology and evolution ranging from animal movement, species coexistence, community ecology, eco-evolutionary dynamics and human social dynamics. He got his PhD with Sergey Gavrilets studying the ecological consequences of intraspecific variation. In the D’Andrea lab Athma extends his work on eco-evolutionary dynamics to understand the effects of biotic-abiotic feedback in plant communities, with a focus on plant-soil feedbacks. His overarching goal is to contribute to a mathematical framework which incorporates traits in a mechanistic manner to study ecological and eco-evolutionary problems.

Athma is currently a faculty member at the University of Michigan-Flint.

Check out Athma's website here. 

Mihir joined us in 2022, having just received his PhD in Ecology and Evolution from Stony Brook University. He is interested in the evolutionary ecology of species interactions. In the lab, Mihir used theoretical models to explore how interactions generate patterns across space and time in high-diversity species assemblages. He also developed tools to detect their influence in natural communities, and applied those tools using real-world data.

Mihir completed his second postdoctoral work at the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain.

Rachael graduated with a Master of Arts degree from E&E in 2023. Her capstone project focused on emerging diseases threatening American beech (Fagus grandifolia), a key species in eastern North American forests. She identified a critical need for research to understand how these diseases interact with each other and other stressors, such as climate change, to inform conservation efforts. Rachael received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Dickinson College in 2016. Rachael is interested in leveraging ecological knowledge in conservation and management of natural areas. She has worked for Esri and the NYC Parks Department, and is currently XYZ.