Our Team
|
Principal Investigator, Applied Plant Ecology & Conservation Lab Matthew Albrecht, Ph.D. (he/him/his) Director, Center for Conservation & Sustainable Development | Missouri Botanical Garden Adjunct Assistant Professor, Washington University Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Missouri-St. Louis Email: matthew.albrecht [at] mobot.org Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Orcid ID | Missouri Botanical Garden | |
Current Lab Members & Students
|
Noah Dell (Science Specialist & Lab Coordinator, 2018-present): Noah coordinates, implements, and manages many of the lab's rare plant conservation projects, most of which are sponsored by the USFWS and NPS. Noah also writes many of our R scripts for data analyses. His primary research interests are in plant community ecology, seed ecology, and population dynamics of rare plants. Noah received a master's degree in biology from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville where he studied analytical methods for vegetation classification. Brad Delfeld (Research Specialist, 2019-present): Brad wears two hats in his position: 1) implementing the lab's restoration-based research projects and 2) working with the ecological restoration team at our Shaw Nature Reserve to restore and manage over 1,000 acres of natural areas. Brad received a master's degree in plant biology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale where he conducted research on plant-soil interactions in wetland restoration.
Michael Barash (Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2021-present): Michael is an undergraduate student at Washington University and has been affiliated with the lab since completing his REU with us in 2021. Michael's senior thesis is being conducted at Shaw Nature Reserve as part of a large grassland restoration research project led by Dr. Andrew Kaul. Michael is examining establishment rates for phylogenetic pairs of conservative and non-conservative grasslands herbs in response to competition (biomass removal) and AMF inoculation.
Mahal Bugay (Bellwether Graduate Student Fellow, 2021): Mahal is a graduate student in the Penczykowski Lab at Washington University, and collaborates with the Albrecht lab through a graduate research fellowship sponsored by the Bellwether Foundation. She conducts research at Shaw Nature Reserve that examines how fire and honeysuckle removal influences soil microbial communities, soil abiotic properties, and plant community dynamics.
|
Former Lab Members & Students
|
Dr. Andrew Kaul (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020-2023): Andrew completed a postdoctoral fellowship sponsored under a generous grant from the Bellwether Foundation. Andrew worked to build capacity in restoration science locally at our Shaw Nature Reserve and across the broader region, through mentoring students in restoration science. His research focused on seed-based restoration and understanding barriers to seedling establishment in Midwestern grassland and oak woodland restorations. He received his PhD from Iowa State University in 2020 and is currently a postdoc at the University of Minnesota.
|
|
Philippa Tanford (Bellwether Graduate Student Fellow, 2022): Philippa is a graduate student in The Penczykowski Lab at Washington University, and collaborates with the Albrecht lab through a graduate research fellowship sponsored by the Bellwether Foundation. Her research focuses on understanding the disease dynamics of a fungal leaf blight that infects native and exotic species of honeysuckle in the Midwest. Anna Wassel (PhD rotation student, 2021): Anna completed a rotation with the Albrecht Lab in the summer 2021, helping with our Bellwether sponsored project to examine the species composition and recovery potential of soil seed banks in degraded oak woodland undergoing restoration with fire and honeysuckle removal. She is a graduate student in The Meyers Lab at Washington University studying tree-herbaceous community interactions in temperate forests.
|
|
Dr. Rachel Becknell (undergraduate and graduate student, 2014-2021): Rachel has worked with the lab since she was an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, when she completed a summer REU research fellowship studying how woody encroachment affected demographic rates in Pyne's ground-plum (Astragalus bibullatus). This project eventually transformed into a senior thesis. As a graduate student at Washington University (Advisor: Dr. Scott Mangan), Rachel examined how plant-soil feedbacks influence restoration outcomes and the role of soil mutualisms in determining reintroduction success of rare plants. Rachel is now inspiring the next generation of scientists as a biology teacher at Bayless High School. |
|
Dr. James Lucas (PhD rotation student, 2018): James completed a rotation with the Albrecht Lab as a graduate student at Washington University. He helped the lab analyze data from an experiment that tested the effects of fire season on the demographic vital rates of the endangered plant, Pyne's ground-plum (Astragalus bibullatus). His current research focuses on the ethnobotany of paper plants in our William Brown Center for Ethnobotany. |
|
Dr. Holly Bernardo (graduate student, 2014-2018): Holly was a graduate student at Washington University (Advisors: Drs. Scott Mangan & Tiffany Knight) and associated with the Albrecht Lab for several years. She worked on a lab rotation project, which evolved into a dissertation chapter, that examined the effects of habitat management and climate change on the population viability of Pyne's ground-plum (Astragalus bibullatus). Holly now works with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. |
|
Dr. Quinn Long (Conservation Coordinator in Albrecht Lab, 2011-2017). Quinn coordinated and managed many of the lab's major research projects related to rare plant conservation and climate change. He also provided institutional leadership in the management and early detection of invasive plant species in the Midwest. Prior to joining the lab, Quinn conducted research in grassland restoration, field botany, and ethnobotany. Quinn is now Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden's Shaw Nature Reserve. |
|
Dr. Oyomoare Osazuwa-Peters (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2015-17): Oyomoare developed meta-analytic techniques to examine patterns of seedling recruitment in rare plant reintroductions. She also designed, populated, and analyzed a large database of rare plant reintroductions in the United States. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and her fellowship was sponsored by a private donor. Oyomoare is now a biostatistician with the Duke University School of Medicine. |
|
Dr. Adam Smith (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2013-15): Adam developed a novel analytical method to examine the vulnerability of rare plants to current and future threats associated with climate change. His vulnerability assessment helps the lab prioritize for seed banking the most vulnerable populations of nearly 100 globally imperiled plant species endemic to the North American Central Highlands. Adam was sponsored by a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and is now the Associate Scientist of Global Change Biology in the Missouri Botanical Garden's Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development. |
Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Students
|
2023 Heather Gray, Appalachian State University
2022 Kyle Osornia, Pepperdine University 2021 Michael Barash, Washington University 2019 Mahala Lorenzo, Adrian College 2018 Kelli Showalter, Washington University (Living Earth Collaborative) 2017 Claire Waldman, Centre College 2015 Jennifer Rosen, University of Missouri-St. Louis 2014 Rachel Becknell, University of Missouri-St. Louis 2013 Susan Deans, University of North Carolina 2012 Emily Ehrenstrom, Southeast Missouri State University |
