Graduate Student Research Award

2026
picture
Sierra Chadwick

Yale School of the Environment

“Microtopography as a driver of New England forest biodiversity across succession”
Abstract

picture
Shanna Demers

Antioch University

“Characterization of fire-impacted temperate cryptogamic communities at Altona Flat Rock jack pine barrens”
Abstract

picture
Nora Heaphy

The University of Vermont

“Adaptive introgression and demographic structure in a keystone northern forest tree”
Abstract

picture
Luke Sparreo

City University of New York and the New York Botanical Garden

“Cophylogenetic approaches towards understanding potential patterns of coevolution in New England carnivorous plant genus Sarracenia”
Abstract

picture
Jason Leung

Columbia University

“Sequencing 19th century herbairum specimens to understand the loss of genetic diversity in a regionally extinct beach plant, Amaranthus pumilus Raf., or seabeach amaranth”
Abstract

picture
Caroline Witherspoon

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

“Usnea subfloridana as a model for understanding the drivers of the distribution and ecology of imperiled Usnea lichens in the northeastern United States”
Abstract

picture
Rachel Hopkins

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

“Mountain plants on the move: Tracking 60 years of climate-induced changes on Whiteface Mountain, New York State”
Abstract

picture
Prasanth Prabhu

Clark University

“Metabolomics and comparative transcriptomics to understand the evolution of the nematode-paralyzing neurotoxin in the invasive fungus Pleurotus citrinoplieatus Singer”
Abstract

picture
Vidya S. Vuruputoor

University of Connecticut

“Elucidating genomic mechanisms of hemlock woolly adelgid resistance through transcriptome profiling”
Abstract

picture
Meredith Theus

Cornell University

“Effects of plant photosynthetic pathway on greenhouse gas emissions from Northeastern wetlands”
Abstract

picture
Andrea J. Tirrell

University of Maine

“A sky island perspective: New England alpine plant distributions through 40 years of global change”
Abstract

picture
Amelia A. Fitch

Dartmouth College

“Investigating the role of mycorrhizal fungi in New England forest management”
Abstract

picture
Joseph Jaros

Fordham University

“Linking plant soil feedback to population dynamics using demographic models of knotweed”
Abstract

picture
Cooper M. Kimball-Rhines

University of Mass-Boston

“Conservation and restoration of Lupinus perennis, a keystone pine barren pioneer”
Abstract

picture
Emmi Kurosawa

University of Mass-Boston

“How carnivorous are you? Seasonal changes in carnivory and prey preference among carnivorous plants of New England”
Abstract

picture
Max McCarthy

Rutgers University

“Effects of flower phenology on pollination and reproduction of a protandrous plant”
Abstract

picture
Michael LaScaleia

University of Connecticut

“What role do top-down and bottom-up enemy release play in exotic plant invasion of New England forests?”
Abstract

picture
Madeleine Meadows-Mcdonnell

University of Connecticut

“Coastal wetland carbon dynamics: testing how salinity and light affect root exudation rates of dominant salt marsh grasses”
Abstract

picture
Aiden Stanley

University of Pittsburgh

“Have human-mediated disturbances led to changes in pollination of native flowering plants?”
Abstract

picture
Jacob Suissa

Harvard University

“The effects of stelar architecture on hydraulic integration in fern rhizomes”
Abstract

picture
Hannah Vollmer

Plymouth State University

“Conservation genetics of two rare alpine roses in the White Mountains of New Hampshire”
Abstract

picture
Jamie Harrison

Boston University

“Combined effects of growing season warming and winter freeze/thaw cycles on northern hardwood forest ecosystems of New England”
Abstract

picture
Michelle R. Jackson

University of Massachusetts Amherst

“The potential impacts of increased warming and nitrogen on Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) physiology across a latitudinal gradient”
Abstract

picture
Fiona Jevon

Dartmouth College

“Do density-dependent feedbacks drive New Enggland temperate tree seedling growth, survival, and diversity?”
Abstract

picture
Steven Ballou, Jr.

University of Memphis

“Morphology, Ecology, and Population Genetics of Lactuca hirsuta (Asteraceae) on the Cape and Nantucket, Massachusetts, with special consideration of L. hirsuta var. sanguine“
Abstract

picture
James Mitchell

Harvard University

“Diversity and host specificity in the Genus Sarea Fr. (Ascomycota)”
Abstract

picture
Anastasia Mozharova

University of Massachusetts Boston

“Identifying the presence of submersed aquatic plant species at low abundances using the eDNA (environmental DNA) method and next-generation sequencing”
Abstract

picture
Steven Ballou, Jr.

University of Memphis

“Morphology, Ecology, and Population Genetics of Lactuca hirsuta (Asteraceae) on the Cape and Nantucket, Massachusetts, with special consideration of L. hirsuta var. sanguine“
Abstract

picture
James Mitchell

Harvard University

“Diversity and host specificity in the Genus Sarea Fr. (Ascomycota)”
Abstract

picture
Anastasia Mozharova

University of Massachusetts Boston

“Identifying the presence of submersed aquatic plant species at low abundances using the eDNA (environmental DNA) method and next-generation sequencing”
Abstract

picture
Jenifer Dickinson

Antioch University New England

“Defining the habitat characteristics of four rare alpine plant species in the Presidential Mountain Range, New Hampshire, USA”
Abstract

picture
Karl Fetter

University of Vermont

“Reduced hybrid fitness maintains species boundaries in two fully compatible poplars”
Abstract

picture
Ellie M. Goud

Cornell University

“Plant carbon gain and water loss strategies as driverse for the maintenance of diversity: A novel approach using leaf carbon and oxygen stable isotopes”
Abstract

icon