Current Lab Members
Lorena Torres-Martínez – Principal Investigator
Seahawk Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF)
Riley Strohecker – Summer 2026
Riley joined the lab as a directed research student in the fall of 2025. She was awarded a SURF fellowship to investigate the ability of Persea endophytes to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a sustainable plastic alternative produced within stressed bacteria. Riley is the president and a player for the women’s rugby team.
Stella L’Italien – Summer 2025
Stella joined the lab as a directed research student in the spring of 2024 and was awarded a SURF fellowship to study the effects of invasive plant species in the bee community diversity around St Mary’s City.
Sophia Koontz – Summer 2023
Sophia joined the lab as a directed research student in the spring of 2023 and was awarded a SURF fellowship to study the effects of sea level intrusion in the symbiotic interaction of legume cover crops with rhizobia. She used as a model system white clover. Sophia is currently a PhD candidate at Penn State University.
Mel Byrne – Summer 2022
Mel joined the lab in the Spring of 2022 and got interested in the abundance and presence of Phytophthora spp across coastal forests of Maryland. Her summer research project evaluated the abundance of Phytophthora spp across a salt intrusion gradient along coastal forests in the Potomac River.
St Mary’s Project Students (SMPs) – FA 2026-SP2027
As part of their graduation requirement at St Mary’s College of Maryland, students develop their own independent research project during their senior year. I am very excited to have wonderful and motivated students join my lab to develop their senior research projects.
- Mara Coughlin
- Ella Garret
- Chloe Montville
- Bree Quist
- Brianna Reber
- Riley Strohecker
- Luis Saucedo
- Peyton Kresslin
Directed Research Students (FA2026-SP2027)
- Sasha Agarunov
- Jd Lee
- Luke Williams
Greenhouse Technicians & Research Assistants
- Dezarae Pharr
- Becca Spinichia
- Mara Coughlin
- Kendall Pasquarelli
Past Undergraduate Trainees at SMCM
I have had the fortune to train a great team of undergraduate students at Purdue, Tulane University and at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) . They were a key component for the development of my Ph.D. and postdoctoral research projects. I have also had the fortune to train several students at St Mary’s College, here is a little information about them:
Stella L’Itallien
Stella was is very passionate about insects. She continued her SURF project through her SMP. She studied whether invasive plant species may be influencing the diversity of native bees in St Mary’s City. She is currently a Field Technician at CIRE (University of Montana)
Aurora Lewis
Aurora was the greenhouse technician at SMCM and did several semesters of directed research. For her SMP, she investigated the incidence and genetic variation of an invasive plant pathogen in native Persea species across the United States. She is currently a laboratory technician at Merck.
Krystal Moore-nicks
Krystal investigated the feedbacks between snail grazing and Spartina alterniflora fungal endophyte communities through a series of manipulative greenhouse experiments and microbial essays. Krystal is currently applying to graduate school!.
Juniper Humphrey
Juniper started as a directed research student in Spring 2023. Juniper’s SMP project was a literature review about the endophyte diversity in Lauraceae plants in the US.
Ugonna Ejekwu
Ugonna studied the abundance of bacteriophages in farmland soil exposed to different cover crops. She is currently a Hot Metal Bridge Postbaccalaureate Fellow.
Emma Shepard
Emma investigated the molecular and phenotypic diversity of endemic US Persea spp endophyte fungi. She is currently traveling to Nambia with the Peace Corps and plans to attend graduate school when she comes back.
Sophia Koontz
Sophia started directed research in spring 2023. After the SURF internship, her SMP investigated effects of sea level intrusion in the symbiotic interaction of legume cover crops with rhizobia by using molecular approaches to ascertain which rhizobia strain is most competitive under salt stress.
Devon Crain
Devon investigated whether microplastics influence the growth of small legumes.
Aaron Roberts
Aaron’s SMP was a literature review on the endophyte diversity of Coastal forest trees.
Isabella Schindler
Bella started as a directed research student in 2024. As part of her senior honor’s project she studied the evolution of heavy-metal resistant bacteria in agricultural soils around Maryland.
Patton Harbour
Was a directed research student over the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025. He analyzed the effects of cover crops in soil health at the Kate Farm.
Kaila Webster
Kaila Webster was the greenhouse technician intern during FA2023-SP2024, her primary duties revolved around creating and maintaining an ideal environment for plant growth and experimentation.
Jackson McLean
Was a directed research student through the Fall 2023 and Spring of 2024. He was also a greenhouse technician intern during the summer of 2024.
Jocelyn Fillius
SMP student FA23-SP24: SMP addressed how different cover crop plants can influence the bacterial community composition of historic farmland soil in Southern Maryland
Andrew Rawley
SMP student FA23-SP24: addressed the competitive advantage of native rhizobia in Maryland farmlands with respect to regularly used commercial inoculant strains in the cover crop White clover.
Morgan Marzec
SMP student FA23-SP24: addressed darkling beetle insecticide resistance and efficacy in different East Coast population in collaboration with the University of Delaware.
Colleen Smith
SMP student FA23-SP24: researching how saltwater intrusion is impacting coastal and riverine fungi in Southern Maryland.
Mary Ardita
SMP student FA22-SP23: Her research project aimed at understanding the effects of drought in the legume-rhizobium symbiosis.
Kirsten Geraldine Asis
SMP student FA22-SP23: rhizobia adaptation to increase levels of salinity in Maryland soils
Jordan Manns
Jordan did his SMP project over the fall 2022-spring 2023 and was a directed research student over the spring of 2022. Jordan was awarded a Xigma-Xi grant to study the effects of salt intrusion in the symbiotic association of baldcypress trees with arbuscular mycorhizal fungi.
Sam Muir
Sam was a directed research student since fall 2021 until spring 2023. He was also a research assistant in the lab in spring 2023. His research focused on identifying the diversity of oomycetes in soils of coastal forest across a salt intrusion gradient. Sam is now pursuing a masters in data science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Past Undergraduate Trainees at UCR
Jacob Rothschild
I am a Biology Major at the University of California Riverside. I am primarily interested in genetic engineering and its possible applications in combating desertification and food shortages on our planet. My hobbies include gardening, fishing, kayaking and backpacking. I joined the Sachs Lab in the Winter of 2018. I have worked under the supervision of Dr. Torre-Martinez in the research project aiming to elucidate the evolution of host-specificity in Acmispon spp. I am currently developing my own research project in the Sachs lab aiming to elucidate host-symbiont signals for nitrogen uptake.
Tram Le
I am currently a pre-med student at the University of California, Riverside majoring in Biology. During my free time, I enjoy reading, sketching clothing designs, exploring new and cool places, and spending time with my family. My main interest has always been healthcare, but I want to open myself to other fields of expertise and develop skills across a wide range of areas. In Dr. Sachs lab, I am working as a research assistant under the supervision of Dr. Torres-Martinez in the Acmispon spp project.
Zenia Rana
I am currently a student at the University of California, Riverside and am working towards receiving a Bachelors of Biochemistry with a Medical Science Emphasis. When I am not trying to pursue my bachelors degree I love spending time with my family, friends, and very importantly my cat Milo. I assisted Dr. Torres-Martinez during my time in the Sachs Lab with the Acmispon spp project. As an undergraduate I decided to apply and work in Sachs lab to find my passion and career path.
Past Undergraduate Trainees at Tulane University
Emma Tower
I graduated in May from Tulane’s 4+1 program with my masters in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. As an undergraduate at Tulane I majored in Ecology with minors in Public Health and Studio Art. I enjoy camping, gardening, and painting in my free time. In the Van Bael lab, I studied the impacts of abiotic stress on the microbiomes of several wetland and tropical plants. Researching endophytes brought me to some incredible ecosystems, including the rainforests of Panama, oil-spill degraded salt marshes and cypress-tupelo swamps in coastal Louisiana. This year, I participated in Dr. Torres-Martinez” research on the impacts of flooding on bald cypress endophyte communities. I’ve recently moved from New Orleans to Boston to work as a research associate at Indigo Agriculture, a startup that is harnessing the beneficial effects of endophytes on crops for sustainable agriculture.
Miranda Hendrix
I recently graduated Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a minor in Spanish. In the Van Bael lab, I assisted in Dr. Torres-Martinez research looking at the effects of flooding in baldcypress trees, an important tree in the South for storm protection. I am interested in coastal restoration, and in the future hope to work more in this area. I also plan on attending medical school in the fall of 2019.
Emma Darr
I graduated from Tulane University in 2017 with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a minor in Chemistry. As an undergraduate I began working in the Van Bael lab because I am interested in research that explores the complex relationships between plants, microorganisms, and humans. During my senior year I collaborated on Dr. Torres-Martinez’s project investigating the response of Bald Cypress endophytes to inundation stress.
Past Undergraduate Trainees at Purdue University
Suraya Williams
I am an Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology major at Purdue University. I have minors in the Classics and Environmental Policy and Politics. My research interests are conservation ecology, the impacts of climate change, international environmental policy, and environmental governance. My hobbies are reading classical literature, watching horror films, and cooking. I joined the Emery Lab since fall 2013 under the supervision of Lorena Torres-Martínez. I had the chance of participating in her multiple PhD research projects, but particularly in the study of inter-population variation in germination phenology and dormancy in L. fremontii. After I completed my undergraduate degree, I got accepted into the environmental law program at Vermont University!
My interests in research include ecological genetics, parasitic behavior/affects, and evolutionary ecology. My hobbies include fishing, painting canvases, and watching/playing sports. I joined the Emery Lab under the supervision of Lorena Torres-Martinez in the summer of 2014. I worked as an undergraduate research assistant for Lorena’s project which main goal was to estimate the adaptive potential of L. fremontii for responding to alternative rainfall patterns in California. Then, I joined the research lab of Dr. Catherine Searle at Purdue University to develop my Honor Thesis in parasitic ecology. I am now accepted to the health and diseases graduate school at Loyola University in Chicago.
Phillip Weldy
I am currently a senior completing my bachelors degree in Environmental, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology. My interests are rather broad, but they can largely be summed as exploring the characteristics of organisms that allow them to successfully interact with others and their environment. I joined the Emery Lab in the fall 2013 and helped in the several research projects that Lorena Torres-Martínez was developing in her PhD. Particularly, in the evaluation of the adaptive potential of L. fremontii to respond to the projected changes in rainfall conditions in California. I am now working under the supervision of Dr. Ximena Bernal at Purdue University.