I like almost anything associated with plants, with a particular fondness for peppers. And trees. And also insects. And fungi. I have more research questions than there are minutes in a day, and they seem to center around basic and applied plant biology. I have been intrigued by the smells of the natural world, and how they generate publicly available ecological information. You can read a bit more about me, like my Not-so brief history, or my Curriculum Vitae, or how I manage to find any sort of Work-Life Balance.

I have been fascinated with plant chemistry for as long as I can remember. Plants, like all organisms really, must react to dynamic environmental changes (i.e., herbivores, pathogens, availability [or lack] of resources) with dynamic physiological changes that help them either tolerate or actively resist the stress. One way plants have adapted to accomplish such environmental variation is by regulating their internal chemical profiles. This ability (termed 'phenotypic plasticity') is regulated by complex processes integrating gene expression, protein synthesis, phytohormone signaling, and metabolic shifts. These complex processes occurring within a plant also shape how the plant interacts with its environment, or its 'ecological interactions'. As a plant biologist, I am fascinated by the intricate regulation required to control trait variation. And I am most interested in plant defense. As an ecologist, I study the nature of interactions that are influenced by plant trait variation, including direct and indirect effects of the trait variation on ecological interactions and ecosystem function.

If this sounds interdisciplinary, it is. I have actively developed expertise in field ecology, plant physiology, metabolomics, and molecular biology from which to draw to address research questions and hypotheses key to understanding plant chemical ecology.

The types of research questions I pursue require a diverse array of expertise. My interests and experiences can be considered Molecular Ecology, Chemical Ecology, Physiological Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Entomology, and Fundamental Plant Biology.

My interest in plant defense has its roots in an early pursuit of ethnobotany. A number of the metabolites that plants use to defend themselves against herbivores or pathogens have direct and clear roles in maintaining human health, and humans routinely exploit botanical chemistry for our benefit. A great deal of my interest in defense-related polyphenolics and terpenes is ultimately based on the utility of these diverse classes of compounds to human enterprise. Medical remedies of plant secondary metabolites (i.e., phytopharmaceuticals) were my initial focus, but I am also now equally interested in using plant metabolites as alternative forms of fuel and energy.

My academic history can be summed up in my CV and you can learn a little more about who I am here. I also am an active participant in efforts to increase scientific literacy in future generations of scientists, and work hard to inspire young students from all backgrounds to investigate the natural world around them. Ecology is everywhere, plants are integral to almost all ecosystems (and autotrophs are integral to all ecosystems), yet there is still so much we don't understand about both. So, there is no young person who should not be able to learn about plants and ecological systems if they are inspired to do so, regardless of whether they live in an urban, suburban, or rural environment.

"Nine tenths of education is encouragement" - Anatole France