People in the lab

A smiling person in outdoor clothing crouches in a lush, green forest, touching the ground among ferns and trees. The forest floor is covered with leaves, and a small red flag is visible nearby.

Ariana Di Landro

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, PhD student

Ariana is working on her PhD with the group. This summer (2026) she is working at the Swiss Warming and Removal in Mountains (WaRM) site. She is exploring how warming and shifts in plant composition impact ecosystem stability.

BS, Princeton University

Ariana’s email, linkedin

A person with long dark hair, wearing a gray shirt and black overalls, stands in a green forest holding a small cylindrical item. Ferns and tall trees surround them, and a measuring pole is stuck in the ground nearby.

Brenda Hernandez, MS

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, PhD student

Brenda is exploring how leaf litter, roots, wood, and nutrient inputs shape microbial communities and soil function as part of the long-term Detrital Input and Removal Treatment (DIRT) experiment. She spends most of her summer at the UM Biological Station, but when she is not in the lab or field, she loves spending time with friends trying new things, whether that’s skiing or a new restaurant.

MS, University of Michigan; BS, Pace University

Brenda’s email, google scholar, linkedin

A person wearing a gray hoodie, brown cap, and blue gloves smiles while holding a small bag and a water bottle in a lush, green forest with scattered fallen branches and trees.

Ronan Montgomery-Taylor

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, PhD student

Ronan is a PhD student in the lab who is curious about how how different mycorrhizal guilds drive changes in plant traits. This summer he will spend some time at the UM Biological Station exploring how interactions among herbivores impact mycorrhizal production and composition.

BS, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ronan’s email

Aadia Moseley-McCloud, MS

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, PhD student 

Aadia is a PhD student exploring how environmental stress shapes trait expression in low bush blueberry. This summer she is setting up experiments in Ann Arbor and at UM Biological Station.

MS, University of Michigan; BS, Howard University

Aadia’s Website, Aadia’s email, Aadia’s Google Scholar

A young woman with long dark hair, wearing a brown top, smiles at the camera against a softly blurred indoor background.

Giovanna Munoz-Gonzalez

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, MS student 

Giovanna is conducting her MS work with the group exploring the links among disturbance, nutrients, microbes and plants. She is working in the UM DragNet site.

BS, California State University, Fresno

Giovanna’s email

Olivia Vought

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, post-doc

Olivia is a post-doc with the group exploring how changing winters influences forest productivity.

PhD, University of Michigan; BS, University of Vermont

Olivia’s Website, Olivia’s email, google scholar, linkedin

Undergraduate Collaborators

A young woman stands smiling next to a scientific poster about the effects of buckles fern on oak seedlings in a well-lit hall with other people presenting posters in the background.

Lena Reeves

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 

Lena is an undergraduate student interested in ecosystem ecology. She is exploring how environment influences bracken and blueberry traits.

Lena’s email

A person stands smiling in a snowy forest, wearing a colorful winter jacket, blue pants, gloves, and a knit hat. Snow covers the ground and tree branches, and evergreen trees fill the background.

Kari Taylor

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 

Kari is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan exploring investigating how mollusk, fungi, and insect interactions cascade to impact plant diversity and productivity.

Lena’s email

Lab Research Staff

A smiling person in a blue jacket and patterned headband holds a power drill next to a mounted solar panel in a snowy field with trees and a cloudy sky in the background.

Karin Rand

Karin is our lab manager. You can find her at the University of Michigan Biological Station or Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in the summer and in Ann Arbor the rest of the year. She helps to maintain long-term experimental treatments, manage our large global datasets, and keep our on campus lab up to date and functional for our entire research group (national and international). Karin enjoys getting out in the field for work as well as play whether that be on foot, two wheels, or skis!

BS, University of Vermont

Karin’s email, google scholar, linkedin

Five people are in a modern office with glass walls. Dr. Vought stands smiling with arms crossed in the foreground, while others in the background engage casually near desks, computers, shelves, and a sleek radio.

Isabel  Thornberry

Isabel is a field and lab technician working in the group. Her work is focused on changing winters, root production and mortality, and soil chemistry (including FTIR). She can quickly synthesize any dataset and is a whiz at figuring out how to organize and present tricky datasets.

BS, Haverford College

Isabel’s email, linkedin

Three people in outdoor clothing examine something in their hands while standing and crouching on a damp forest floor, surrounded by trees and ferns. A dirt path is visible in the background.

Lab Alumni