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I'm Cristal, a PostDoc-Lab Manager in the Gilbert Lab. I'm a Plant molecular biologist and biotechnologist. I'm broadly interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of plants under two approaches, 1) increasing crops yield and 2) how plants respond to abiotic stress, specifically pH stress.

This summer I'm particularly excited because I'll be launching a new project with the main question: "How early can plants expose hidden fungal infections through subtle physiological shifts, and how does climate shape these signals?" The project will involve two components, 1) a controlled experiment in the greenhouse and, 2) fieldwork. Both imply physiological measurements, molecular confirmation of infection, and interdisciplinary integration of physiology and climate data. You can adapt the project to your own skills, new skills you want to develop and as it better fits your career goals.

I'll be really happy to work with an REU student who wants to get onboarded in this project idea (plant-fungus interaction) and expand it. No previous experience necessary but the clearer you know what you want to accomplish from this summer experience, the better.

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Hello, we are the Smith Lab within the MSU Dept. of Horticulture and the MSU Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) Program. Our research asks how we can best manage agricultural systems to simultaneously promote environmental wellbeing, conserve biodiversity, control agricultural pests, produce safe and sufficient food, and support farmer livelihoods and wellbeing. To do so, we use ecological theory to identify what contexts have the best overall outcomes. Much of our research examines how landscape context interacts with how diversified a farm is to influence how beneficial or harmful biodiversity is to agricultural production. We use a combination of large-scale field studies and meta-analysis techniques to answer these questions. Altogether, our lab takes a multidisciplinary “team science” approach to understand when and where different farming practices are likely to result in the best outcomes for biodiversity, crop yields, farmer wellbeing, and food safety.

We seek a 2025 REU student to study how prairie strips impact birds in agricultural systems. The student could work on topics such as bird nesting in prairie strips, how birds impact arthropods in crops adjacent to prairie strips, or how prairie strips may influence food safety risks associated with birds.

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Hello! We are the Aho Lab, in the MSU Dept. of Earth & Environmental Science and MSU Dept. of Integrative Biology. We study carbon and nitrogen cycling in streams, rivers, and lakes (inland waters) through the lens of ecosystem ecology, with a focus on greenhouse gas production in and emissions from these systems. Climate change is a fundamental motivator for this work, as a better understanding of these ecosystems will improve overall carbon budget estimates. Our methodology is field-based, consisting of weekly sampling at several rivers and streams near KBS, alongside laboratory techniques for analyzing these samples. Broadly, students in our lab will be exposed to the field of aquatic biogeochemistry, with the potential for independent projects examining the influence of agricultural landscapes and hydrologic variability on inland water biogeochemistry/aquatic carbon cycling. Students can also pursue more specific topics in these areas depending on interests.

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Carol Waldmann Rosenbaum (she/her) - Litchman Lab

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Carol Waldmann Rosenbaum (she/her) - Litchman Lab

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Hi! My name is Carol Waldmann Rosenbaum and I am a fourth-year PhD student at the Litchman Lab. I research freshwater cyanobacterial algal blooms; specifically how environmental drivers such as temperature and nutrients affect these blooms. I use a trait-based framework to understand the differences and similarities between different cyanobacteria genera and how these traits determine the community composition during bloom seasons. Most of my research is done in the lab using over 300 cyanobacterial strains isolated from the Laurentian Great Lakes and Lake Victoria in Africa.

I am looking for an undergraduate student interested in freshwater quality, community ecology, and harmful algal blooms. As an undergraduate in the Litchman lab, you will have the opportunity to sample local lakes and get familiar with several sampling techniques, learn how to identify, isolate, and culture different groups of phytoplankton, and learn how to use different types of microscopes.

Together we will develop a research project that interests you and falls within the scope of what we do in the lab. Examples of research questions you could answer are: How cyanobacteria from different Laurentian (North American) Great Lakes compare to African ones? How do temperature or nutrients affect bloom dominance in Lake Erie? Have a different related idea? I am open to hearing your thoughts and developing something together.

No previous experience is necessary! I am looking for someone passionate about lakes and water resources that could see themselves working in a lab environment most of the time.

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Hello! I’m a PhD student in the Microbial and Ecosystem Ecology Lab, led by Dr. Sarah Evans. I am broadly interested in understanding soil microbial processes that improve plant nitrogen availability, and how intensive land management influences those processes. My research focuses on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and their interactions. I leverage both long-term field sites and controlled mesocosms to determine how these beneficial mycorrhizal-bacterial interactions improve plant nitrogen, with the ultimate goal of leveraging these interactions to reduce our reliance on synthetic chemical fertilizers.

I use a variety of techniques to study mycorrhizal-bacterial interactions, including community sequencing to estimate species co-occurrence, stable isotope probing to quantify plant-microbe nutrient exchange (soil nitrogen for plant carbon), and microscopy to infer mycorrhizal fungi nutrient exchange.

Potential project ideas for an undergraduate working with me include:

1. How does nitrogen fertilization and crop species interact to influence arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) root colonization and community composition?

2. Do co-inoculations of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria improve crop N uptake and productivity?

3. Can arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks stimulate free-living nitrogen fixation in managed agroecosystems?

4. Do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) root traits correlate with plant nutrient uptake?

I’m open to suggestions regarding field, greenhouse, or lab based projects! No prior research experience is necessary. I am looking for someone who is passionate about science, soil, and microbes!

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I am a Ph.D. student in the Haddad Lab at KBS, and I am excited to mentor a student this summer!

I am broadly interested in butterfly-plant communities in the context of anthropogenic change (e.g., pollution, habitat loss/conversion, etc.). I am also passionate about pollinator conservation. I am currently investigating how sodium affects pollinator preference for flowers, and I am beginning to study how pesticides affect Monarch butterflies. I plan to conduct my research in restored prairie areas around KBS and in the greenhouse.

A student working with me should expect to work outside in the field and learn basic butterfly and plant identification. Potential projects could ask whether butterflies prefer salty nectar or whether pesticides affect a certain performance measure in Monarchs. I could provide ample support for any projects looking at butterflies, prairie plants, or bumble bees, but I am open (and excited!) to hear your own project ideas. Conducting experiments is only one step in the research process. I am excited to help you statistically analyze your own data and communicate your findings with the world!

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Dr. Chris Kozakiewicz (he/him) and Dr. Alisha Shah (she/her)

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Dr. Chris Kozakiewicz (he/him) and Dr. Alisha Shah (she/her)

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Hello, we are Dr. Chris Kozakiewicz and Dr. Alisha Shah, Assistant Professors at KBS. We are excited to co-mentor an REU in summer 2025. The Kozakiewicz lab's research focuses on disease ecology, landscape genomics and ecology, and terrestrial systems. The Shah lab's research explores ecological physiology, climate change adaptation, and aquatic systems.

We are interested in understanding the feeding behavior of a voracious predator – the Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly. Observations indicate that Pondhawks consume butterflies and moths more frequently than other types of insects. This is problematic in some areas that are home to endangered butterflies. We are looking for a student who will help us conduct meta-barcoding (genomic) analyses gut content in wild-caught Eastern Pondhawks to better understand their diet. We will then run feeding choice experiments to further identify prey preference and the rate at which different types of prey species move through the gut of the predator. This research is part of a larger project to conserve the severely endangered Poweshiek skipperling butterfly.

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Hey! I am a first year PhD student in the Haddad Lab working on the impacts of climate change on butterfly morphology using field experiments and museum samples. However, on top of this research, I am very invested in education and outreach. This coming summer I am offering an ecology REU and a unique Higher Education REU position.

The ecology REU will be focused on the impacts abiotic factors have on individual butterfly fitness. I will be setting up structures for an enclosed cabbage white colony under different abiotic influences. Experiments can build off this setup.

The education position is ideal if you are passionate about the intersection of ecology and education or find yourself torn between applying to an education or ecology REU. This position would be a rather meta-REU with research focused on investigating the impacts of REU experiences on undergrads in ecology.

Possible research questions:

How does increased temperature impact cabbage white egg production?

How does decreased precipitation impact cabbage white coloration?

What is the impact of an REU experience on undergrad's confidence in ecology?

What impact does a KBS REU have on a student's trajectory through STEM?

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Hi,

I’m a PhD student in the Gilbert Lab working on plant-herbivore interactions and the functional ecology of trait variation and stochasticity. I am broadly interested in the ecology of plant-insect interactions, especially general rules about those interactions which can be derived from their statistical properties. I investigate these questions using a combination of lab and field experiments, mathematical modeling, computer simulations, and data syntheses.

As an REU student, you will have the option to develop a project in one of three areas: (1) the ecology of dame’s rocket polymorphism, (2) the interaction between spatial pattern of plant toxins and herbivore pathogen risk, and (3) a project about plant-insect natural history. Although coding and quantitative skills are not required, you are expected to show interest in and work toward developing these skills.

Regarding (1), I started the project with a previous REU student who is now writing a paper about how herbivores destabilize frequency dependent selection of dame’s rocket floral polymorphism. We have a lot of field data (mostly plant fitness measures) across 40-sites and >10k records of citizen science/collections data (mostly morph frequencies) that are unpublished. You can work with these datasets and/or supplement them with further experiments.

Regarding (2), I have data on the performance and movements of caterpillars in different landscape configurations. This is a lab system that my collaborators and I have been studying for a while, so we know its biology well. You can work with these datasets and/or supplement them with further experiments.

For more information, please see my recent publications and research descriptions on my website (https://vsbpan.github.io/) or email me.

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Hello :) I am a second-year PhD student in the Sprunger Lab at KBS - I'm very excited to mentor a REU this coming summer! I was an undergraduate intern at KBS in 2021, so I have experience with the program and know how special it is.

As a graduate student, my research interests are in the intersections between agricultural conservation management practices and soil health. In particular, I study the ways that prairie strips (a conservation practice) alter soil health on intensive row-crop agriculture. I do this by analyzing soil biology (nematodes!), chemistry (nitrogen and carbon cycling), and physics (soil structure). My projects take place on working farms in Michigan and in the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) trials. Here is some info on prairie strips if you are curious!

This summer, my REU will be helping me complete multiple laboratory analyses on soil that has already been collected. Additionally, this REU will assist with field work (soil sampling and in-field measurements) and some data analysis/visualization. If interested, I’m open to having this REU student learn about nematodes and/or science outreach and communication too!

Some potential research topics for a summer student would be (1) quantifying effects of prairie strips on nitrogen cycling or (2) understanding how temporal (time and climate) factors influence measurements of soil health in prairie strips and adjacent row crops.

Ideal candidates for this REU would have a passion for soil science/agriculture, be interested in learning laboratory protocols, and be comfortable spending time outside in strenuous conditions.

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Hi, I'm Kathryn Docherty, a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. This is about 30 min away from KBS and my team and I conduct much of our research there. Main projects in my lab focus on understanding how restoring native prairie plant species into the landscape affects soil microbial community biodiversity, processes, and soil health. We focus on how management choices, such as the seed mix used, the size of the restored area, or the time since installation affect soil restoration. While much of our work is at KBS, we also work with Michigan farmers and non-profit organizations.

As an REU student in the Docherty lab, you will work alongside me, several graduate students, and other undergraduates during your 10 week immersive experience. You will be involved with collecting data that is part of larger projects and you will be guided to develop your own project and hypotheses. You will become a pro at reading and interpreting scientific literature and we will work together to analyze your data and create a poster presentation for the final KBS symposium. You will gain substantial experience working with a team of researchers to collect samples and conduct a suite of soil measurements that examine microbial activity. All our lab work is done at my lab in WMU, so having a vehicle and driver's license are critical.

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Hi! I’m a PhD student in the Haddad Lab at KBS and I’m excited to work with an REU student this summer. I’m broadly interested in how human stressors on habitat impact ecosystems and how we can mitigate those impacts. Much of my research focuses on the effects of habitat fragmentation on plants, pollinators, and their interactions. I investigate these ideas using a combination of fieldwork and long-term datasets – learn more about my research here!

Potential project ideas for an undergrad working with me could include:

1) looking at how habitat fragmentation affects bee traits (like body size) using previously collected bee samples (lab-based project)

2) using long-term LTER data to look at multi-trophic biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships (data-based project).

While the project we work on together likely won’t involve fieldwork, there will be many opportunities to gain field experience by helping out with weekly butterfly surveys and other cool activities.

No prior experience necessary – I’m looking for someone who is excited about science and willing to learn new skills.

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Hello! I’m a postdoc in the Soil Health and Ecosystem Ecology lab, led by Dr. Christine Sprunger. I look forward to mentoring an REU this summer on a project that centers around soil health.

I am a trained soil scientist and microbial ecologist. I primarily study soil biological health, with respect to soil carbon and nitrogen assays and soil microbial analyses, in relation to agroecosystem function. I also have experience with evaluating soil physical and chemical health with respect to soil aggregate and fertility analyses. My passion lies with studies of soil profile health – in soil cores that are sampled to 3 feet in depth - which is unique as most people study surface soil and exclude subsoil depths.

As an REU in the Sprunger lab, you will have amazing opportunities to experience all of the facets of research - field work, lab work, data analysis, and communication. There are several options for your summer research project, including two ongoing projects related to soil biological health in soil profiles collected from different long-term research experiments across Michigan.

I am looking for someone who is hard working and passionate about science, and am eager to work with you on developing your research skills and a particular passion for soil science!

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Dr. Kadeem Gilbert (he/him) and Dr. Cristal Lopez-Gonzalez (she/her)

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Dr. Kadeem Gilbert (he/him) and Dr. Cristal Lopez-Gonzalez (she/her)

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Hello, I'm Dr. Kadeem Gilbert, an Assistant Professor at KBS, also affiliated with the Plant Biology department, the program in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, and the Plant Resilience Institute among others.

At the broadest level, I am interested in how plants are able to mediate their interactions with symbionts that live on or in their leaves. I particularly like considering leaf structures as microenvironments with abiotic factors that plants can regulate via their physiology. Much of my work has involved the communities living inside the digestive fluid of pitcher plants, but recently I have expanded to also investigating communities on non-carnivorous leaves as well. While it may not be a big surprise that carnivorous plants can control the acidity of their digestive fluid, it turns out that "regular" leaves can also control pH levels on their surfaces and any moisture they interface with.

I am excited to co-mentor an REU student (together with Dr. Cristal Lopez Gonzalez) to develop an original project investigating some aspect of this understudied trait of leaf surface (aka, "phylloplane") pH regulation.

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I'm a PhD student in the Klausmeier lab at KBS and currently looking for an REU to work on a project related to modeling population dynamics with species traits in mind.

I am broadly interested in how species traits can be used to understand community structure in both constant and fluctuating environments. I am also interested in testing theory with long-term ecological datasets from a variety of systems (mainly phytoplankton and terrestrial plants).

A potential student would ideally have strong programming skills in any language. A student with a strong mathematics background is preferred, but not necessary.

Here are some examples of questions you might work on: 1) How do species abundance distributions depend on seasonal fluctuations? 2) How do species' trait distributions change along nutrient gradients? 3) How can species traits be used to understand long term successional trajectories? Of course, these are only suggestions, and I would be open to any project that I can help with.

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Hello! I am a PhD student in the Conner lab and I'm looking for an REU to join us this summer. I am pretty broadly interested in evolution, and in the Conner lab we study how plants evolve through a variety of mechanisms.

While evolution most famously occurs through direct natural selection, it can also occur by other means. Working with me, you’d likely participate in a larger project interested in how traits evolve. We are studying a specific trait – the number of stamens in the flowers of Arabidopsis thaliana (the lab rat of plants). Arabidopsis at low altitudes and latitudes have recently evolved to lose some of their stamens. But what makes this trait especially interesting is that the number of stamens may not actually be important for surviving or reproducing at different altitudes or latitudes, meaning the trait could be evolving for reasons other than direct natural selection. Our goal is to figure out the mystery of why exactly this trait is evolving, which could help us understand more generally how evolution happens.

While your exact role within this project depends on what you’re most interested in, you will likely work with me and other lab members to collect and analyze data from Arabidopsis plants grown in growth chambers. This could range from measuring plants directly to analyzing image data to combining either of these with genomic data as we try to figure out the genes that affect stamen number.

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Hi! I am a Ph.D. student in the Janzen Lab at KBS, and I'm excited to mentor an REU student this summer. I study animal behavior, specifically how animal personalities (also called behavioral syndromes) may mediate organismal responses to environmental change and stress. Currently, I explore these questions with painted turtles by utilizing a long-term mark-recapture population in Illinois colloquially named "turtle camp".  An undergrad working with me can expect a mix of field and lab work this summer.  At turtle camp, we really camp! So, I am looking for someone who enjoys or can get excited about the outdoors and is comfortable tent camping for an extended period of time but is also excited and passionate about benchwork and processing samples in the lab. Possible project ideas might include...

How do stress hormones, immune function, and epigenetic signatures vary with different turtle personality types?

Does turtle behavior type predict susceptibility to parasites?

...but I am open to any project idea within this system that integrates behavior and physiology!

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Through a collaborative project between MSU, Grand Valley State University, and the Gun Lake Tribe this REU project will assess how variation in water levels impacts the growth and reproductive health of wild rice populations in Michigan. We plan to evaluate how increased water levels during early growth periods impacts individual growth rates across populations. This increase in water level simulates what lakes experience through dam adjustments each spring. The responsibility of the student includes helping to establish wild rice in the KBS experimental ponds, altering water levels during the experimental period, and taking weekly growth measurements for individual plants. This project is sponsored by the KBS LTER and will be led by Dr. Charlyn Partridge from Grand Valley State University.