Welcome to the Ashman Lab
Ashman Lab members - a community of scholar-educators
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Dr. Tia-Lynn Ashman
Distinguished Prof.
Dr. Ashman’s research program mines the interrelationship between ecology and evolution and focuses on plant biology. It spans scales of single interacting populations to diffuse interactions within whole communities, and from evolutionary genomics to ecological genetics. Current projects in her lab are based in California, Hawaii, Oregon, Mexico and China revolve around four major foci: 1) The contribution of polyploidy to functional and genomic biodiversity; 2) Ecological and evolutionary studies of separate sexes and sex chromosomes; and 3) The influence of biotic and abiotic features on plant-pollinator interactions, and their effects on phenotypic evolution. 4) The role of plant-pollinator interactions in plant coexistence in biodiverse areas and in the face of shifting species compositions (extinctions/invasions) and climate change; 5) Urban plant ecology and the importance of pollinator-mediated interactions to plant fitness and biodiversity; 6)Pollinators as viral vectors. Dr. Ashman is a UPitt Chancellor’s Distinguished Researcher, EO Wilson Awardee, Outstanding Mentor Awardee and has published over 175 research papers. She has served on the Editorial boards of The American Naturalist, Ecology, and New Phytologist, as well as Secretary and Executive Council member of American Society of Naturalists, and Society for the Study of Evolution. She is deeply committed to outreach and expanding diversity within science.
Zephyr
lab ESA
Zephyr is not a fan of laptops but loves making friends
Veronica Iriart
Graduate Student
Vero is ABD graduate student. She received her bachelor's from Wake Forest. She is exploring the effects of herbicide drift on plant, microbe and pollinator communities with and interest in eco-evo dynamics .
Hannah Assour
Graduate Student
Hannah 4th year graduate student interested in polyploidy and urbanization. She is co-advised with Martin Turcotte.
Elizabeth Lawrence
Lab Manager
She keeps us all from falling apart !
Ethan Richardson
Undergraduate
Ethan is a Molecular Biology major. He is interested in plant genomics.
Madison Conn
Undergraduate
Maddie is a senior Environmental Science major with a particular interest in plant-pollinator interactions and how climate change affects plant population dynamics.
Evie Perry
Undergraduate
Evie is a junior Environmental Studies major with a certificate in sustainability. She is particularly interested in entomology and environmental policy.
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Dr. Nathalia Streher
Postdoctoral Scholar
Dr. Streher received her MS and PhD from the University of Campinas in Brazil. Nathalia is broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of plant-pollinator interactions. Her research investigates how pollinator-mediated interactions influence plant community structure and dynamics. In her postdoc work, she is exploring how polyploidy drives phenotypic and temporal changes that can shape plants' pollination niches using herbarium specimens
Dr. Eric Yee
Postdoctoral Scholar
Dr. Yee is interested in how abiotic stressors in cities shape plant trait adaptation and evolution on both local and continental levels. He received my PhD in Earth & Planetary Sciences from Johns Hopkins University in Dec. 2023 on local heavy metal hyperaccumulation on urban lawn weeds (Plantago spp.), and morphological, physiological, and phenological adaptation to the urban heat island on cosmopolitan lawn weed species. is now conducting postdoctoral work on the importance of abiotic interactions on the establishment of polyploid populations in collaboration with the Turcotte lab.
Amber Stanley
Graduate Student
Amber Stanley is a 4th year graduate student. They received both a BS and MS from ETSU studying urban seed dispersal. Currently, Amber is studying the influence of climate change and urbanization on floral traits and reproduction on a focal plant species with a mixed-mating system.
Isadora Schulze-Albuquerque
Visiting Graduate Student
Isadora is a PhD student in Brazil at Dr. Isabel Machado lab (Federal University of Pernambuco) and is a visiting scholar at the Ashman Lab. She received her bachelor's and MS from Federal University of Pernambuco. Her research focuses on the relationship between flower color and climate change in both dry and rainforests in Brazil.
Keila Jellings
incoming! Graduate Student
Keila graduated with both a B.S. in Plant Science and Microbiology from Purdue University. She is a pollen enthusiast interested in pollen microbiomes and plant-pollinator interactions.
Nola Rettenmaier
incoming ! Graduate Student
Nola graduated from Cornell University, with a B.A. in Biological Sciences. She is interested in the molecular basis of species interactions and coevolution.
Ryan Dow
Undergraduate
Ryan is a junior Biology major with a minor in Chemistry and Mediterranean Art & Archaeology. He is currently working with herbarium specimens to evaluate the potential effects of polyploidy on various plant species.
Loghan Hawkes
Undergraduate
Loghan is a neuroscience major and artist. They are illustrating our newest children's book.