LEC Pillar
Yehuda Ben-Shahar
Professor, Biology Department, WashU
Primary subject(s) of interest: Evolutionary, molecular, and genetic analyses of animal behavior and sociality; The genetics of organismal resilience to environmental stress; Drosophila models of neuronal and psychiatric disorders
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global
Peter Bernhardt
Research Associate of Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Pollination; Anthophilous insects (bees, beetles, syrphid flies, butterflies and moths); flowering plant groups (orchids and other petaloid monocots), montane wildflowers of the Himalayas; Proteaceae of Australia; plant systematics and phytogeography of the floras of southern Australia; redbuds and dogwoods of Missouri; pollination in urban versus rural flora native to North America; popular illustrations and depictions of flora and their pollinators from the 19th-21st century; the history of the writings of Charles Darwin and his contemporaries on floral adaptation/evolution; bee diversity on rural versus urban trees of redbud (Cercis canadensis) and dogwood (Cornus florida) in St. Louis and its counties
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Saint Louis, Missouri, Kansas), Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia), China (Kunming, Lijiang and Yulong (Yunnan))
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savana, Shrubland, Grassland, Montane>3000m
Stephen Blake
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Saint Louis University
- Email: stephen.blake@slu.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ecology and conservation of mega vertebrates
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Congo Basin, Galapagos Islands, Central Africa, Saint Louis, MO
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Adrianus (Jacco) Boon
Professor, WashU School of Medicine
- Email: jboon@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Virology and virus ecology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: USA
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Emily Bowling
Conservation Education Liaison, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: bowling@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Palm oil sustainability, public education, local conservation
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Tropical rainforests, Forests, Agricultural land, Urban areas
Louise Bradshaw
Retired Director of Education, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: bradshawrl@yahoo.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: Climate change education, enhancing biodiversity, community-based conservation engagement, nature-based education, urban biodiversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Saint Louis region (Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban biodiversity
John Brinda
Assistant Scientist, Herbarium, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: john.brinda@mobot.org
Primary subject of interest: Ecology, taxonomy, and conservation of bryophytes
Primary geographic area of interest: USA, Madagascar, Philippines
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts
Bruce Carlson
Professor of Biology, WashU
- Email: carlson.bruce@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Sensory and evolutionary neuroscience in electric fish
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Sub-Saharan Africa
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater
Gautam Dantas
Conan Professor in Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, WashU School of Medicine
- Email: dantas@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: (1) Understanding how diverse microbiomes respond to chemical and biological perturbations, (2) harnessing these insights to rationally design therapeutic strategies to curtail antibiotic-resistant pathogens and remedy pathological microbiome states, and (3) engineering microbial catalysts to convert renewable biomass into value chemicals such as biofuels and pharmaceuticals.
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States, El Salvador, Peru, Pakistan, Niger, South Africa, Republic of Congo, Netherlands, China, India
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Agricultural lands, Urban areas, Built environment
Karen DeMatteo
Research Affiliate, WildCare Institute at the Saint Louis Zoo / Academic Advisor, Biology Department, WashU / Conservation Detection Dog Handler/Trainer, A K9 Nose Knows
- Email: KarenDeMatteo@outlook.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ecology, conservation, and management of predator-prey species using noninvasive techniques
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Nebraska, and San Francisco), South America (Argentina), & Asia (Bhutan)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Monocultural plantations & fragmented ecosystems
Kate Farley
Assistant Scientist, William L. Brown Center
- Email: kfarley@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ethnobotany, traditional ecological knowledge, community-based conservation, North American biodiversity, invasive species
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Appalachia, the Ozarks)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Agricultural land
Martha Fischer
General Curator and Director of WildCare Institute Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa, Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park
- Email: Fischer@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: All Horn if Africa wildlife including Grevy's zebra, hirola, black rhino, mountain nyala, giraffe, African wild ass, and Ethiopian wolf; southeast Asian wildlife, such as banteng; local Missouri wildlife and urban biodiversity
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Horn of Africa, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somaliland
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Savanna, Grassland, Deserts, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Michael Frachetti
Professor of Archaeology, WashU
- Email: frachetti@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Anthropology, Archaeology, Asia, Human Ecology, Grassland ecology, Tropical jungles
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Asia-Pacific (Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Grassland, Deserts, Urban areas, Mountains
Gayle Fritz
Professor Emerita of Archaeology, WashU
- Email: gjfritz@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Agriculture, plant domestication, archaeobotany, ethnobotany, and conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Mexico, United States (Mississippi River valley, St Louis Metro area, SE and Southwest US)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Freshwater, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas
Roy Gereau
Assistant Curator and Tanzania Program Director, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Floristics, plant taxonomy, and plant conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Tanzania
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Urban areas
Theresa Gildner
Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, WashU
- Email: gildner@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Human biology, parasitology, host-pathogen coevolution, immune function
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Ecuador, United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Agricultural land, Urban areas, Rainforest
Erik Herzog
Professor of Biology and Neuroscience, Viktor Hamburger Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, WashU
- Email: herzog@biology.wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Circadian rhythms, light pollution, preterm birth, brain cancer
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Deserts, Urban areas
Paul Hime
Instructor in Genetics, Department of Genetics and McDonnell Genome Institute, WashU School of Medicine
- Email: paul.hime@wustl.edu
Primary subject of interest: Genomics, Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, Phylogenetics
Primary geographic interest: Global
Sarah Holaday
Director of Animal Care & Conservation, Endangered Wolf Center
Primary subject(s) of interest: Conservation
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Agricultural land
Nathan Jacobs
Professor, Computer Science & Engineering, WashU
- Email: jacobsn@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Computer Vision, Remote Sensing, Species Distribution Modeling
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas
Ben Jellen
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy
- Email: ben.jellen@gmail.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: The ecology, physiology, behavior, learning, and conservation of amphibians, reptiles and birds
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Central and eastern Missouri and central and southern Illinois
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Freshwater, Urban areas
Elizabeth (Lisa) Kelley
Executive Director-WildCare, Director-Center for Conservation in Madagascar, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: lkelley@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Coordinating wildlife programs and evaluation, wildlife conservation, anthropology, primatology, lemurs
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Madagascar, global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savana, Deserts
Kieran Lindsey
Program Director, Online Master of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech
- Email: kieranlindsey@gmail.com
Primary subject(s) of interest: Urban wildlife, human-wildlife interface
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Monica McDonald
Program Scientist, AZA Reproductive Management Center, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: mmcdonald@stlzoo.org
Primary subject of interest: Behavior, genetics, primatology, reproductive management, endocrinology and African Painted Dogs
Primary geographic interest: Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Zoos and ex-situ habitats their wild counterparts inhabit
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Virginia (Ginger) McKay
Assistant Professor, WashU Brown School
- Email: Virginia.mckay@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Infectious disease, Antimicrobial stewardship, Implementation science
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Kim Medley
Director, Tyson Research Center, WashU
- Email: kim.medley@wustl.edu
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland, Freshwater, Urban areas
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Mary Merello
Curatorial Assistant, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: mary.merello@mobot.org
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Vietnam, Indonesia, Ecuador
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Herbarium
Bob Merz
Assistant Director, Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute
- Email: Merz@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Critically endangered American burying beetle
(Nicrophorus americanus)
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Midwest Region)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Grassland
Jeffrey Meshach
Deputy Director, World Bird Sanctuary
Affiliated Institution(s): Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis University
Primary subject(s) of interest: Birds, especially birds of prey
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Urban areas
Eric Miller
Director Emeritus, Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute
- Email: REMiller@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Madagascar, animal health as part of One Health, zoo and wildlife medicine, general conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Betampona Natural Reserve, Madagascar
Travis Mossotti
Assistant Director IT Research Systems, WashU
- Email: travis.mossotti@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Poetry & Environmental Stewardship; Interdisciplinary Conservation Programming; Language of Conservation
Primary geographic interest: United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Freshwater, Marine, Deserts, Urban areas
Patricia Olynyk
Florence and Frank Bush Professor in Art, WashU Sam Fox School
- Email: Olynyk@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Human-animal studies, interspecies communication, environmental narratology, dark sky studies
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Canada, Japan, United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Skies
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator, Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: npfeifer@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Museum studies, museum exhibitions, history, contemporary art, anthropology, conservation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: All
Anya Plutynski
Professor of Philosophy, WashU
- Email: aplutyns@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: History and philosophy of biology and medicine, conservation, biodiversity, ethics
Amy Pool
Curatorial Assistant, Latin America, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Floristics, sharing science, the importance of biodiversity and conservation, and the significance of global climate change with the local public, plant taxonomy, natural history collections use and curation
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Central America
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Collection-based
David Powell
Director of Research, AZA Reproductive Management Center, Saint Louis Zoo
- Email: dpowell@stlzoo.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Animal behavior, animal welfare, human behavior/ethics, reproductive biology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Zoos
Jenny Price
Research Fellow, Sam Fox School, WashU
- Email: jjprice@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Public arts and humanities projects--Environment and public space
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Missouri)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Peter Raven
Emeritus Professor, WashU
Primary subject(s) of interest: Onagraceae, conservation, sustainable development, plant geography
Rodrigo Reis
Professor, WashU Brown School
- Email: reis.rodrigo@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Livability, Built environment, and Public health
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Brazil, United Kingdom, United States (St. Louis), Mexico
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Urban areas
Adam Smith
Scientist in Global Change & Conservation, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Email: adam.smith@mobot.org
Primary subject(s) of interest: Conservation biogeography and global change, using statistical models of populations, species, and ecosystems
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Joe Steensma
Professor, Brown School, WashU
- Email: jsteensma@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Environmental health, sustainability, food, security, and biodiversity
Primary geographic interest: Costa Rica, Nigeria, Australia, the United Kingdom, United States
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Freshwater, Agricultural land
LEC Seed Grant Projects
Charlotte M. Taylor
Senior Curator, Monographic Studies, Latin America, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Neotropical Floristics and Biogeography, Taxonomy and Systematics of Rubiaceae
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Mexico, Central America, Antilles, tropical South America, Madagascar
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forests, Savanna, Shrubland
Alan Templeton
Charles Rebstock Professor Emeritus of Biology, WashU
- Email: temple_a@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Endangered salamanders, reintroduction of wild ass, conservation genetics, landscape genetics and restoration of collared lizards
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Israel (Midreshet Ben-Gurion); United States (Glade communities in the Ozarks)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Savanna, Grassland, Deserts
Mikhail Tikhonov
Assistant Professor of Physics, WashU
- Email: tikhonov@wustl.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Ecosystem coarse-grainability, Emergent simplicity, Microbial eco/evo, Statistical physics
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Lab ecosystem, USA field samples, Global surveys
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Marine, Agricultural land
Thomas Valone
Professor of Biology, Saint Louis University
Primary subject of interest: Ecology, Desertification, Communities and behaviors
Primary geographic area of interest: United States (Arizona)
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Grassland, Deserts
Daniel Warren
Professor, Saint Louis University
- Email: daniel.warren@slu.edu
Primary subject(s) of interest: Comparative Animal Physiology, Ecophysiology, Metabolism, Thermal Biology
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Midwestern United States from Missouri to the Canadian border
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Freshwater, Urban areas
Li-Bing Zhang
Curator, Missouri Botanical Garden
Primary subject(s) of interest: Taxonomy, phylogeny, and evolution of ferns and lycophytes
Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Old World/Global
Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Caves and subterranean habitats