About
My profile at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden: https://sbbotanicgarden.org/te...
During grad school at UT Austin, I studied myrmecophiles ("ant guests") of leaf-cutter ants. When I accepted my current position at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden about four years ago, it felt like a natural transition to go from studying invertebrates that are symbionts/"guests" of ants to invertebrates that are symbionts/"guests" of plants (i.e., gall-formers). I mentor many volunteers and interns at SBBG, mostly from local colleges and universities (e.g., UC Santa Barbara, SB City College), and galls offer an opportunity to introduce them to both plant and insect biodiversity and their interactions.
Joined
November 2025
