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People

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Marjorie Weber (PI, pronouns: she/her)
I am an evolutionary ecologist, interested in how ecological interactions impact phenotypic evolution and diversification across evolutionary scales.  My research focuses on interactions between plants and arthropods, and evaluates hypotheses that link plant-arthropod interactions with macroevolutionary patterns. I work in many systems, including ant-plant and ant-mite mutualisms, plant defense, and plant-pollination interactions. I am particularly interested in understanding the role that species interactions play in the evolution of bizarre phenotypes, such as flowers, chemical defenses, or the fascinating structures found on plants that attract and retain arthropod bodyguards. I also have a passion for promoting social justice and equity in STEM, and work to understand and implement change through education. 
​Email:  webermg(at)umich.edu
Google scholar profile
CV ​
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Sylvie Martin-Eberhardt (PhD Student - co-advised with the Gilbert lab, they/them)
I am a plant-insect evolutionary ecologist with a special interest in non-floral red plant structures. I study red coloration in ant-plant mutualisms, herbivory, and especially plant carnivory. Co-advised by Dr. Marjorie Weber at University of Michigan, I use field and herbarium studies to work out plant-insect natural history and answer broader questions about plant-insect signaling and plant defense.
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Rosemary Glos (PhD Student, she/her)
I am a botanist and evolutionary ecologist with an interest in the ways that plant morphology and anatomy mediate interactions with other organisms. I earned my B.S. in plant sciences from Cornell University in 2020 and spent the following year as a research technician and lab manager in the Onyenedum Lab at Cornell. My PhD research is focused on the ecological and evolutionary drivers of complex trichome (hair) morphology in the plant family Loasaceae. This family has the most complex suite of hairs seen in any plant group (stinging, barbed, glandular and more!) but we know surprisingly little about their exact function and evolutionary patterns. My second passion is botanical illustration, so I often seek out projects that merge art and science. Outside of research, I enjoy skating for Ann Arbor Roller Derby, climbing big trees with ropes, and hunting for cool plants in the wild.
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Marianne Azevedo Silva (Postdoc, she/her)
Growing up in Brazil made me an ecologist fascinated with biodiversity at distinct biological levels and spatial scales! I seek to understand environmental and biotic factors that may explain distributions of biodiversity. Although my work is mainly focused on ants, I have a broad interest in other biological systems (if the question is exciting, so is the system!). I earned my B. S., Master’s, and Doctoral degree at UNICAMP in Brazil. As an undergrad, I worked with integrative taxonomy. During the Master’s, I worked on ant intraspecific genetic diversity at colony and population levels, with a particular focus on how landscapes influence species gene flow. During my PhD, I worked with ant-plant interactions along a latitudinal gradient in the Brazilian Cerrado Savanna, focusing on how environmental heterogeneity, resource availability, as well as ant and plant community traits may influence: ant presence on vegetation, functional trait variation and genetic diversity. I am currently a postdoc in the Weber Lab seeking to understand patterns and potential factors underlaying mite-plant interactions along a latitudinal gradient in US. For this purpose, I will integrate multiple approaches, including field and herbarium data sampling, molecular tools, and phylogenetic analyses.
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Kaira Schaefer (Master's student, she/her)
I am interested in community ecology as it relates to plants and herbivores. This includes the interactions occurring between plants and herbivores, as well as the way that the microbial communities are being affected in the process. Science communication and outreach are also extremely important to me. I’m interested in exploring ways to bridge the gap between the science community and the public, and inspire underrepresented groups to explore and pursue careers in science if they so choose. I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2022 with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. I then worked for two years at The Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, MI for USGS. There I had the opportunity to take part in wetland restoration research (under Dr.Wesley Bickford) studying invasive Phragmites management and Wild Rice conservation and restoration
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Allie Fletcher (Research Technician, she/her)
I am an aspiring evolutionary biologist with interests in entomology, parasitology, and natural history collections research. I recently earned my B.S. in biochemistry, molecular biology, and environmental studies in the Honors College at the University of South Carolina, where I conducted research in the LoPresti Lab on climate-driven phenological shifts in moth flight periods and long-term phenotypic change in tiger moths (Apantesis) at a single sampling site of coastal SC over 50 years’ time. Over the past year, I have investigated the evolutionary origins, distribution, and ecological implications of the Dicrocheles ear mites of noctuoid moths, an understudied group of mesostigmid mites with fascinating implications for host-parasite coevolution work. In support of this project, I have worked extensively with major entomological collections, pursuing internships and contract work at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH). Currently, I serve as a lab technician for the Weber Lab, assisting in projects on plant domatia mites, extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), and moth phylogenetic tree reconstruction.​

Samme Molino (Undergraduate Researcher)

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Abbey Soule (PhD Student, she/her)
Plants and insects make up the vast majority of terrestrial biomass, and therefore understanding the interactions between them are vital to understanding the natural world; it is in these interactions that my research interests lie. I am particularly fascinated by the myriad chemical defenses employed by plant life and the adaptations insect herbivores have developed as a result. Prior to graduate school, I explored monarch butterfly flight ability in the context of global change, and studied the evolution of chemical defense in tropical trees. My dissertation research utilizes modern metabolomics methods to explore the chemical ecology of plant-insect interactions across gradients of latitude, elevation, and climate. I am also a passionate social activist. At the University of Michigan, I have founded bI/O (https://bioio.org/), a science seminar series in Michigan prisons  where scientists from various career stages in the EEB department discuss their research and career path with incarcerated students. I strongly believe scientific knowledge should be for all, and I hope to expand this work to other academic institutions. Outside of research and outreach, I sing in a barbershop chorus and quartet, spend time outdoors, and care for my many pets (pictured below).
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Simone Oliphant (PhD student, she/her)

I am broadly interested in competition in tropical plants communities. Specifically, my work looks at the interactions within and between different vine species in the Caribbean, with my PhD thesis focusing on climbing plant species growing in agroecological areas in Jamaica and Puerto Rico. As a first-gen graduate student and a WOC, I am also passionate about mentorship and giving back to my communities, and am involved in a graduate-student lead program aimed at increasing diversity in EEB. 
Outside of my work, I enjoy scary movies, traveling, and annoying my roommate's cat, Matcha.
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Emma Dawson-Glass (PhD student, co-advised with the Sanders lab, she/her)

I’m a community ecologist interested in how plant-arthropod interactions function and how they are impacted by global change phenomena. Prior to starting my PhD, I eared my B.S. in Environmental Science from McGill University, where I explored how pollination influences plant ranges. I then worked as a lab technician in the Stuble Lab at the Holden Arboretum, where I worked on a diversity of projects including how global change influences plant litter decomposition, the impacts of changing germination phenology on community assembly, and the ecological impacts of forest management. As a PhD student, I’m exploring how climate warming impacts the mutualism between plants and beneficial mites that live in leaf structures called domatia. In exchange for abiotic and biotic protection in the domatia, mites protect plants by eating pathogenic fungi and herbivores. I’m curious about how warming may reshape the communities that occur on leaves and how it may affect this mutualism. Outside of research, I love reading, ceramics, and hanging out at the Ann Arbor public library!

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Julia Boyle, Postdoc, she/her)

I'm interested in the ecology and evolution of mutualism, symbiosis, and interactions between plants, microbes, and insects. Though tiny, the communities of microbes and arthropods that live on leaves have outsized effects on plants. Mites engage in ancient mutualisms with over a quarter of all flowering plant families, acting as predators on small arthropod herbivores and vacuums of phytopathogenic fungi. In return, plant structures can provide mites shelter and safety from predators. Despite their demonstrated importance to plant performance, mites remain an enigmatic partner to plants. As a postdoctoral researcher in the Weber lab, I am exploring how plant traits may drive specificity in plant-mite mutualisms, and the cascading effects of mites on the leaf microbiome. Previously, I completed my PhD at the University of Toronto studying the patterns and processes of plant-microbe interactions. Specifically, I examined how plant traits, priority effects, and climate factors could shape plant microbiomes and their benefits to plants. You can find more about my research here: https://juliaboyle249088957.wordpress.com.  While not doing research, I enjoy walking, hiking, reading, and making art.

Charlie Zhang (Undergraduate Researcher)

Lab Collaborators: 

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Ash Zemenick (Lab collaborator - Director of Project Biodiversify )
I am a community ecologist interested in plant-arthropod interactions, and their role in structuring microbial communities. For my PhD I worked to disentangle how the structure of plant-flower visitor interactions varies for different types of flower visitors, and the implications of varying structure for floral microbe communities. During my post doc, I will be studying how plant-mite interactions directly and indirectly influence leaf microbial communities and subsequent invasibility by pathogens. I will also be working on building a repository of introductory biology teaching material that humanizes the field of biology and biologists. It will include how biological research applies to current societal problems and highlight what it is like to be a biologist. The materials will be composted of examples provided by biologists that self-identify as being part of underrepresented group(s) in STEM (e.g. in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, income, nationality, immigrant status, cognitive and physical ability, etc.). 
website: ​http://ashzemenick.weebly.com/
Google scholar Profile
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 Liz Schultheis (Lab collaborator - Co-founder of Data Nuggets)
I am a co-founder of Data Nuggets, an innovative approach to bring cutting edge research and authentic data into K-16 classrooms. My work includes plant biology and science education research, grant writing, curriculum development, running training workshops for scientists focused on science communication, and teacher professional development. My PhD is in Plant Biology and EEBB, advised by Jen Lau at MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station.
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Melissa Kjelvik (Lab collaborator - Co-founder of Data Nuggets, she/her)
I am formally trained in behavioral ecology (consequences of individual differences in foraging behavior), but have 10+ years of informal training in science education. I am a co-founder of the Data Nuggets program, which brings contemporary research and role models into K-16 classrooms. I am currently working with Marjorie and Ash, along with collaborators at Auburn University through an NSF IUSE grant: “Diversifying and humanizing scientist role models to increase the impact of data literacy instruction on student interest and retention in STEM.” I am excited to strengthen the collaboration between Data Nuggets and Project Biodiversity to increase representation in STEM classes!

Honorary members:

 Banjo , Korra, Freya, Basil, etc
 Love getting scratches on the head and looking deeply into your eyes while they wag their tails.
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Eloise Wolf (Co-advised with Bradburd Lab)

Lou's research is focused on developing new forms of dance, notions of personal property and, concurrently, the ability to share that property (work ongoing). Future research plans include sleeping in a little bit later on weekends.

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Abraham Oak  (Co-advised with Bradburd Lab)
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Abe's research is focused on  developing rudimentary motor control and (parental fingers desperately crossed) circadian sleep rhythms. 

Lab alumni:

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Chris Talbot (Undergrad Researcher and Research Technician, 2023-2025) 
Carolyn Graham (PhD Student, 2025)
Addison Yerks (Undergraduate Researcher, 2024-2025)
Joseph Robinson (Lab Technician, 2024)
​Bruce Martin (PhD Student, 2018-2024)
Paige Trevillian (Undergraduate Researcher,2022-2023)
Andrew Myers (Postdoc, 2019-2022)
Daniel Anstett (Postdoc, 2021-2022)
Margaret Fleming (Postdoc, 2019-2021)
Caroline Edwards (Lab Tech, 2018-2020)
Erika LaPlante (Graduate Student, 2017-2020)
Michael Foisy (Graduate Student, 2018-2020)
Eric LoPresti (NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, 2017-2020)
Susan Gordon (Lab tech, 2016-2017)
Keegan Mackin (Undergraduate researcher, 2016-2018)
Ellen James (Undergraduate Summer Research Assistant at Kellogg Biological Station, 2018)
Katy Garber (Research assistant, summer 2017)
Abby Sulesky (Undergraduate researcher, 2016-2018)
Lucy Schroeder (Undergraduate researcher, 2016-2018)
Dan Hughes (Lab tech, 2017-2019)
Carina Baskett (PhD Student - Co-advised with Doug Schemske, Graduated 2018)
​Riley Scanlon (Undergraduate Artist in Residence 2019- 2020)
Thomas Zambiasi (Undergraduate Researcher 2018-2020)
Aaron Slater (Undergraduate Researcher and Project Biodiversify Intern 2019-2020)