Current lab members (ordered by length of time in the lab)
Mary L. Cadenasso, PI
Mary is a native of Oakland, California, and after completing a biology degree at the University of Santa Clara, she worked as a botanist with an environmental consulting firm in the Bay Area before returning to graduate school at Rutgers University and earning Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution in 1998. She was a post-doc at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook NY and a founding member and co-PI of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, LTER. She spent 2 years as a visiting scholar at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University before joining the UC Davis faculty in 2006. The primary thread that weaves through all of Mary's research is a concern with linking landscape pattern to ecosystem function and understanding how human activities alter that link. Her research spans systems and scales and she works in the oak savanna and high alpine of California and the metropolitan regions of Sacramento and Baltimore. Click here for Mary's CV.
Email: MLCadenasso@ucdavis.edu
Email: MLCadenasso@ucdavis.edu
Joanna Solins, Postdoctoral Scholar
Joanna originally joined the CLUE lab as a graduate student and is now a postdoc working on the Baltimore-based “Is Green Infrastructure a Universal Good?” project. Joanna is fascinated by the complexity and variety of urban ecosystems, and her graduate research focused on riparian plant communities and soils along small streams with altered hydrology in Sacramento, California. A Massachusetts native, Joanna earned her BA in environmental studies from Vassar College and worked in educational publishing and non-profit outreach and communications before joining the CLUE lab in 2012. She earned an MA in geography in 2016 and a PhD in ecology in 2018.
Email: JSolins@ucdavis.edu
Email: JSolins@ucdavis.edu
Jasmin Green, Ph.D. Candidate
Jasmin grew up in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, stirring her curiosity from a young age about how individual actions can have large-scale impacts on the environment. She attained her BS in Biology and Environmental Science at The College of William and Mary in 2015, where she conducted research on the viral ecology of freshwater ecosystems, focusing particularly on the effects of storm water runoff in suburban neighborhoods. Her interest in the influence of human structures on the natural landscape led her to join the CLUE lab in 2017, where she is pursuing her PhD in the Graduate Group of Ecology.
Email: JAGre@ucdavis.edu
Jasmin grew up in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, stirring her curiosity from a young age about how individual actions can have large-scale impacts on the environment. She attained her BS in Biology and Environmental Science at The College of William and Mary in 2015, where she conducted research on the viral ecology of freshwater ecosystems, focusing particularly on the effects of storm water runoff in suburban neighborhoods. Her interest in the influence of human structures on the natural landscape led her to join the CLUE lab in 2017, where she is pursuing her PhD in the Graduate Group of Ecology.
Email: JAGre@ucdavis.edu
Former lab members -- Graduate students
Alex Webster, Ph.D.
Dr. Alex Webster completed her Ph.D. in the CLUE lab in 2018. Her dissertation is entitled: "Ecological structure and function of highly modified waterway networks." Alex completed a postdoc at the University of Fairbanks, AK and is now an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico.
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Victoria Dearborn, M.S. Student
Victoria completed her M.S. in the CLUE lab in 2021. Her thesis is entitled "Balancing water conservation against urban heat mitigation: The effect of residential landscaping on thermal comfort in a semi-arid city. Victoria is now a Policy and Research Specialist with the NYC Department of Sanitation |
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Elise Tulloss, Ph.D.
Dr. Elise Tulloss completed her Ph.D. in the CLUE lab in 2013. Her dissertation is entitled: "The effects of nitrogen deposition on plant community dynamics in a heterogeneous savanna landscape." Elise is currently on faculty at La Salle High School of Yakima, Washington. |
James McConaghie, Ph.D.
Dr. James McConaghie completed his Ph.D. in the CLUE lab in 2014. His dissertation is entitled: "The influence of spatial heterogeneity, hydrologic variability, and scale on nitrogen and water export in urban residential ecosystems." James is currently the Natural Resource Specialist in the Division of Water Quality Standards and Assessments at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. |
Lilly Hayden, M.S.
Lilly Hayden completed her M.S. degree in the CLUE lab in 2014. Her thesis is entitled: "Best management practices for reducing residential landscape runoff and non-point source pollution: An investigation of the effects of outreach education and aesthetic preferences on homeowner behavior." Lilly is currently an Environmental Scientist at the California Department of Water Resources.
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Dustin Herrmann, Ph.D.
Dr. Dustin Herrmann completed his Ph.D. in the CLUE lab in 2014. His dissertation is entitled: "Nitrogen retention and loss in urban lawns." Dustin is currently with Tree People in Los Angeles, CA.
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Former lab members -- Postdocs
Weiqi Zhou, Ph.D.
While in the CLUE lab Dr. Weiqi Zhou's research focused on remote sensing and urban land cover working to improve and automate the HERCULES land cover model. Weiqi also investigated the spatial distribution of urban heat. He is currently a Research Professor in the State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing.
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Ganlin Huang, Ph.D.
Dr. Ganlin Huang wore several different hats during her postdoc at UC Davis -- one of which was with the CLUE lab where her research efforts focused on the distribution of land surface temperatures and human populations in cities. She is currently a professor at Beijing Normal University.
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Kirsten Schwarz, Ph.D.
While in the CLUE lab Dr. Kirsten Schwarz's research focused on urban ecosystem services and environmental justice. She compared urban tree canopy distribution relative to socioeconomic factors in 7 cities. She also helped to initiate, and conduct the SLUG project. Dr. Schwarz is an associate professor at UCLA.
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Former lab members -- Technicians
Abri de Buys
After collaborating with Mary and colleagues on a project in Kruger National Park, South Africa, Abri join the CLUE lab. He contributed his ideas and talents to the continuation of the research in Kruger Park and was also instrumental in establishing the lab and helping graduate students get their field research started. Abri returned to South Africa and joined the Fynbos node of SAEON (South African Environmental Observation Network) as a Technical Officer.
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Jill Baty, Research technician
While in the CLUE lab, Jill worked primarily on the SLUG project.
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Cindy Engel, GIS technician
While in the CLUE lab, Cindy worked on HERCULES and the SLUG project. Cindy is currently the GIS coordinator at the Amador County Transportation Commission.
Bryn Montgomery, GIS Analyst
Bryn joined the CLUE lab after completing a MSc. degree in Geography at Simon Fraser University. While in the lab, he supported the GIS and remote sensing components of several research projects. 
Bogumila Backiel, GIS Analyst
Bogumila contributed to a statewide project investigating the impacts of water conservation measures on urban trees. Bogumila is currently a landscape ecologist at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. |
Heather Smith
Heather was responsible for the SLUG project while in the CLUE lab. She also contributed to several other projects. She is currently the Grand Traverse Baykeeper for the Watershed Center, Michigan. 
Logan Brissette, GIS Analyst
Logan worked on several ongoing projects in the CLUE lab but particularly on the Green Infrastructure, HERCULES land cover model, and on the green infrastructure project and support the GIS and remote sensing components of other projects in the lab. Logan is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at UC Davis. |
