School of Life Sciences and Sustainability

Thanks for visiting! We study how climate, disturbance, succession, and vegetation structure affect leaf to landscape processes in forests and wetlands. We seek M.S. and Ph.D. students to partner in research supported by the Department of Energy (DOE), National Science Foundation (NSF), EPA and NASA. Our work is conducted at VCU's Rice Rivers Center, the University of Michigan Biological Station, and across North America and beyond.

What we do: National Science Foundation projects ask how forests respond to disturbance. NASA’s Student Airborne Research Program and the new Training and Research in Earth and Environmental Sciences (TREES) Program provide immersive training. NASA and DOE projects investigate mid-Atlantic wetland carbon cycling and biodiversity using cutting-edge ground, air, and satellite observations. A Chesapeake Carbon Consortium (C3) project with the Nature Conservancy supports nature-based solutions through ecological restoration.

OUR TEAM, Fall 2026

We are a student-centered, collaborative, creative and engaged research group. We like what we do, a lot. Lab members include undergraduate and graduate students, post-bacc researchers, post-docs, and artists. Students in the lab participate in all aspects of research, including study design, data collection and analysis, and publishing.

Chris

Ariel

Chris Gough, Director of the VCU Rice Rivers Center, Director of the Chesapeake Carbon Consortium (C3), Professor & Lab Director. Carbon is my favorite element. CV

TBD, NASA supported post-doc. Coastal wetland structure-function relationships

Lisa

Lisa

Lisa Haber, post-doc (NASA & DOE)

Disturbance and forest + wetland leaf and canopy physiology

Laura

Moriah Young, post-doc (VCU Shift Lab)

Nature-based solutions

Ariel

Ariel Johnson, PhD candidate (NSF)

Forest compositional change and ecosystem resilience after disturbance

Mindy Priddy, PhD Candidate (NASA)

Tidal wetland carbon cycling, SARP-E mentor

Cameron

Cameron

Douglas Giles, MS Student (NASA)

Tidal wetland carbon cycling

Katie Stevens, MS Student

Project TBD

Leah

Cameron

Trevor Gress, tidal wetlands field tech

Leah

Cameron

Cree Taylor, Independent Study Undergraduate investigating vegetation indices in tidal wetlands, NASA SARP alum

Rin Soble, Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF), Forest soil respiration following disturbance

Leah

Milton Hicks, Federal Work Study lab technician

Janaijah Synacker-Johnson , Federal Work Study lab technician

Sara Bouchard, FLUXNET Artist-In-Residence

ALUMNI:

Brandon Alveshere, post-doc, Holden Arboretum Staff Scientist

Sara Tenda, MS, 2026

Erin-Darby McClain, MS, 2025

Angela Menna, MS, 2025

Sara Spence, REU, 2025

Jade Shull, REU, 2024

Elyssa Pearson, BS, 2025

Theresa Lucas, BS, 2025, Timmons Inc.

Kayla Mathes, PhD, 2023: Now Woodwell Climate Research Center

Akhil Valluri, BS, 2022, undergraduate independent study student

Jason Funderburk, BS, 2022, undergraduate volunteer

Kerstin Niedermaier, MS, 2022

Laura Hickey, MS, 2022

Erika Masis Laverde, BS, 2022, former artist in residence

Leah Capili, NSF REU, 2021

Dr. Jeff Atkins, Post-doc, 2015-2020: Now with USDA Forest Service

Ellen Stuart Haentjens, PhD, 2021: Now with US Geological Survey

Cameron Clay, MS, 2021

Max Grigri, MS, 2020 : Now Program Manager with Verra

Shea Wales, MS, 2019 : Now Environmental Scientist with Verra

Ben Sagara, MS, 2017: Now VA Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries

Cynthia Sheuermann, M.S. 2016: Now a USDA Forest Service Employee

Amy Schmid, M.S. Biology, 2015: Now Manager with Verra

Lisa Collins, M.ENVS.

Alexis Spencer, work study student

Alex Marini, field/lab tech, 2021

Kirsten Street, field/lab technician, 2020-2021

Carol-Anne Petit, field/lab technician, 2020

Keith Dickerson, field/lab technician, 2020

Alley Barry, field/lab technician, 2017-2018

Sheryl Yaconiello, field/lab technician, 2018

Chase Hershberger, field/lab technician, 2018

Catherine McQuigan, scientific illustrator, 2018