Edward Barge is from Bozeman, Montana. Ed received a BS in biology, and MS in plant science under Dr. Cathy Cripps at Montana State University, in Bozeman. His Master’s thesis focused on systematics and biogeography of Lactarius in the Rocky Mountain alpine zone (above treeline). This project allowed Ed to do field work in some…

Andi Bruce is from Santa Ana, California. She received her BA in Environmental Studies (Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice concentration) at San Francisco State University. Currently she is working toward a Master’s in Biology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the labs of Todd Osmundson and Tom Volk. Andi is researching the synergistic effects…

Laura Bogar is from Seattle, Washington. She received a Bachelor of Arts, Biology from Lewis & Clark College, located in Portland, OR in 2012. She currently resides in San Francisco and is working toward her PhD with Kabir Peay at Stanford. Laura thesis research focuses on how ectomycorrhizal plants and fungi choose their symbiotic partners,…

Caitlin Looby grew up in a small, rural town in New Jersey. She received her B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a minors in Chemistry and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut. While an undergrad, Caitlin studied abroad in Costa Rica through the Council on International Educational Exchange. This was her…

Virginia Poole grew up in a small Southern California beach town, but is local to Oakland, CA. She received her B.S. from UC Davis in Plant Biology. Virgie is currently working toward her Masters in Science at Middle Tennessee State University in the lab of Sarah Bergemann. Virgie is studying bioluminescence in Armillaria mellea. She is…

Klara Scharnagl is a PhD candidate in the Plant Biology Department at Michigan State University. She grew up in Miami, Florida. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in 2010, and her Master’s degree from Florida International University in 2013. Klara’s master’s thesis is titled “The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on…

Jillian Myers is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan. She received her Bachelor’s degree, with an Honors Thesis, Synergistic inhibition of the lethal fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: The combined effects of symbiotic bacterial metabolites and antimicrobial peptides of the frog Rana muscosa, from James Madison…