Biography

I’m a research software engineer and data science educator at the University of Arizona with a background in chemical ecology, plant-insect interactions, and plant population ecology. My Ph.D. focus was on the effects of climate change and insect herbivory on the quality (flavor and health benefits) of tea (Camellia sinensis).

Interests

Plant ecology
Statistics and programming in R
Reproducible research practices
Tea

Education

PhD in Biology, 2020
Tufts University
MS in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, 2010
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BA in Biology, 2006
Whitman College

Projects

Effects of drought and habitat fragmentation on a tropical understory plant.

My postdoctoral project in the Bruna lab at University of Florida involves analyzing long-term demographic data from an experimentally fragmented tropical forest experiment in Brazil.

webchem

An R package for accessing chemical information from the web.

Use of partial least squares regression (PLS) in ecology

PLS is a powerful multivariate regression method that has many applications for ecological data. When is it best used, what are its advantages, and how should you report your results?

bumbl

An R package for modeling bumblebee colony growth

Climate Effects on Bug-Bitten Tea

Eastern Beauty wulong tea is only produced from tea leaves damaged by leafhoppers. The induced volatiles produced by damaged tea plants gives the finished tea a unique flavor. How will leafhopper damage change in a warming climate, and how will that impact tea quality?

Teaching

I’ve been teaching biology ever since I was 12 when I became an interpretive guide at the Lindsay Wildlife Experience in my home town of Walnut Creek, CA. Since then I’ve taught science of all sorts to all ages in a variety of formats.

Selected Teaching Experience:

Ecological Statistics and Data. Spring 2020. I took over this course during my last semester as a PhD student as the instructor of record. I reorganized the syllabus and created new content to teach genearlized linear models and mixed effects models with ecological applications using R.
Biostatstics in R. Fall 2016–2018. Recitation section for BIO132 at Tufts University. In collaboration with Natalie Kerr in 2016 and Avalon Owens in 2018, we designed and taught this new course. Previously, BIO132 used SPSS rather than R and did not have a required recitation. Course materials available here.
Organisms and Populations. Spring 2015. Lab section for BIO0014 at Tufts University. I served as a graduate TA for a lab section of this course in a year when the course was being entirely redesigned. I actively participated in designing course materials and lab activities in addition to teaching my own lab section.
Introductory Biology. 2011 – 2014. I taught a guaranteed transfer credit lecture and lab course at Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, CO where I was an instructor. My students came from diverse age, socioeconomic, and learning backgrounds. I designed lectures and assessment materials and engaged in revising lab exercises and course materials. I attended professional development workshops including an especially helpful one on teaching veterans.