People

Marko J. Spasojevic - Assistant Professor

He/Him/His

Educational Background:

Ph.D. 2010 University of California Irvine, Irvine CA. School of Biological Sciences.

Dissertation: “Species, trait, and phylogenetic associations in the alpine tundra: insights into the processes that affect community composition”.

Advisor: Dr. Katharine N. Suding

B.S. 2004 University of Washington, Seattle WA. Major: Biology (Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation)

A.S. 2002 Shoreline Community College, Seattle WA.

Research Interests:

Community assembly, Plant functional traits, Biogeography, Global change, Plant-Soil interactions, Plant hemiparasites.

CV Google Scholar Email

Lab Members

postdoctoral researchers

Sisimac Duchicela

She/Her/Hers

Email: s.duchicela@gmail.com

B.S. 2011 Catholic University of Ecuador, (Spanish: Pontificia

Universidad Católica del Ecuador)

M.Sc. 2015 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI.

Ph.D. 2022 University of Texas at Austin.

Research Interests:

Biogeography, Community Ecology, Climate change, Conservation ecology, Ecological restoration, Environmental justice, Tropical alpine environments

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graduate students

Ariana Firebaugh Ornelas

She/Her/Hers

Email: afire001@ucr.edu

Co-advised with Loralee Larios

B.A. 2018, Whittier College, Whittier, CA

Research Interests:

Community assembly, Coexistence, Plant functional traits, and Environmental filtering

Joey Krieger-Lodge

They/Them

Email: aj.lodge@colorado.edu

B.A. 2018 Hamilton College, Clinton, NY

Research Interests:

Alpine ecology, Community ecology, Biogeography, and Global change biology

Tesa Madsen-Hepp

She/Her/Hers

Email: tmads004@ucr.edu

B.S. 2015, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

M.S 2018, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

Research Interests:

Community Ecology, Arid Ecosystems, and Global Change Biology

field techs

Erin McCann

She/Her/Hers

Email: emcca006@ucr.edu

B.S. 2011, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

Research Interests:

Community Ecology, Species distributions, and Global Change Biology

field techs

Magda Argueta Guzman

She/Her/Hers

Email: margu006@ucr.edu

Co-advised with Quinn McFrederick

B.S. 2014 The Autonomous Metropolitan University from

Mexico City (Spanish: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Xochimilco, Ciudad de México)

M.S. 2017 The National Autonomous University of Mexico

(Spanish: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM).

Research Interests:

Community ecology, Biogeography, Species interactions, Pollinators and their associated microbes

Website

undergraduates

Mikayla Martinez

They/Them

Email: mmart545@ucr.edu

B.S. 2024, University of California, Riverside.

Research Interests:

Restoration Ecology, Conservation, Climate Change, & Geochemistry.

field techs

Cynthia Franco-Gonzalez

She/Her/Hers

Email: cynthia.francogonzalez@email.ucr.edu

B.S. 2024, University of California, Riverside.

field techs

Adam Huynh

Email: ahuyn106@ucr.edu

He/Him/His

B.S. 2026, University of California, Riverside.

Research Interests:

Restoration Ecology, Global Change Biology, Pollinator and Plant Interactions

Website

lab manager

Caryn Iwanaga

Email: ciwan001@ucr.edu

She/Her/Hers

B.S. 2023, University of California, Riverside.

Research Interests:

Plant Community Ecology, Ecological Restoration/Conservation, Natural Resource Management, and Ecosystem Functioning

Website

alumni

Jared Huxley (PhD, 2017-2023), Program Evaluator, Office of the Secretary, Department of Interior

Jon Henn (Postdoc, 2021-2023), Postdoc at CU-Boulder

Advyth Ramachandran (Undergraduate, 2020-2023), Grad Student CU-Boulder

Sena Sardi (Undergraduate, Field Tech,2020-2022)

Kristen Prattipati (Undergraduate, 2020-2022)
Melissa Salguero (Undergraduate, 2020-2021)
Michel Au (Undergraduate, 2019-2021)
Dani Logan (Undergraduate, 2019-2020)

Hina Varachhia (Undergraduate 2018-2019)
Lisa Schauer (Lab Manager, Technician 2018-2019)
Shane McFaul (Technician 2018-2019)
Martin Arceo (Undergraduate 2016-2017), in Med School
Soren Weber (Lab Manager 2016-2018), Post Doc at Oak Ridge National Laboratory