Open top Chambers at the McPherson Preserve, and another summer of @bugnet.bsky.social started!

This week, I was awarded a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant. So proud to be included among individuals recognized for “extraordinary originality & dedication in their creative pursuits”. This research has been possible because I collaborate with the most incredible teams. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/a...

BugNet currently includes 36 experimental sites in 18 countries 🌍. Huge thanks to all collaborators for their enthusiasm and teamwork!! We’re also looking for new collaborators to join this global effort to understand how invertebrate herbivores and fungal pathogens shape ecosystems. 🌐 bug-net.org

Proud of being part of the Bug-Network! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Our study on warming and free-living nitrogen fixation is out! Great work led by one of the lab alumni, Parker Bartz, the @forestwarming.bsky.social team and @psaima.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

After several years of work, we've compiled a collection of great articles highlighting the importance of beneficial fungi on plant-enemy interactions in a cross journal special feature! @britishecologicalsociety.org besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/13652745...

Four of my amazing undergraduate students graduated this semester! Congratulations to the four of you from three different colleges: College of Arts and Sciences, Ferguson College, and College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology.

The lab is becoming more and more interested in fire with our newly NASA funded Hi-GRASS grant with @gholizadehrs.bsky.social as the lead, and the unexpected 2025 March Oklahoma fire. news.okstate.edu/articles/art... news.okstate.edu/articles/art...

DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA Announce Initial Cancellation of Grants and Contracts to Columbia University Worth $400 Million (government press release) www.gsa.gov/about-us/new...

Six DEB program officers were fired in yesterday's round of layoffs. A kudos board has been created for each of them to give thanks and support. Please DM me if you would like links to these boards.

Newest update from NSF…

Middle children are officially delightful. A study of 700,000 adults finds that the more siblings people have, the higher they score on measures of honesty-humility and agreeableness—and middle children score higher than other birth positions. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

We are hiring a PhD students for our recently NASA-funded HI-GRASS project, which combines microbiome and plant communities with animal telemetry and remote sensing to uncover the factors influencing grassland biodiversity www.bachelotlab.com/join.html Thanks @arcastilla.bsky.social for the pic

We are seeking a Ph.D. student for our recently NASA-funded HI-GRASS project, which uses imaging spectroscopy to uncover the factors influencing grassland aboveground and belowground biodiversity. Deadline January 20th, 2025. Full job description: hamedgholizadeh.wixsite.com/mysite/grass...

Another preprint from the lab. Check out our neat results on how warming might alter N fixation in Puerto Rico! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Only 25% of the world’s remaining tropical rainforests are intact and free of major human disturbances, which puts specific species that depend on undisturbed forests—especially those with small ranges—at risk of extinction. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

The lab is finally using bioRxiv to post preprints. Check out the cool work done by one of our alumni Gabriela Hernandes Villani! doi.org/10.1101/2024...

I love this joyful interview with authors Chris Golé and Nancy Pick: www.nepm.org/podcast/the-...