Lauren Carley, PhD
Assistant professor (she/her)
I’m an evolutionary ecologist using empirical approaches in the field, greenhouse, and laboratory to better understand the origins, maintenance, and consequences of natural variation within and among species. I love working with plants, being outdoors, and continuing my own learning journey in collaboration with colleagues and students. Research-wise, I have a particular fondness for plant chemistry and other mechanisms plants have evolved to survive in, thrive in, and modify challenging biotic and abiotic conditions.
Office: 110A in the Zoology building
Email: lcarley [at] uchicago [dot] edu
Genevieve Tostevin
PhD student, Ecology & Evolution
I am a first-year graduate student broadly interested in evolution and speciation in plants, and how these processes affect genetic diversity, species diversity, interspecies interactions, and other factors. My previous research included investigations of clownfish larval dispersal plasticity at Boston University and secondary succession and plant interspecies interactions at Cedar Creek LTER. In the Carley Lab I am excited to incorporate data collected in the field and the lab into my research.
Email: gtostevin [at] uchicago [dot] edu
Katie Wing
Lab manager / research technician
I split my time 50/50 managing the Carley lab and Kreiner lab here at the University of Chicago. My previous research experience comes from years of work at the Arizona Genomics Institute as well as several medical labs at the University of Arizona. I am a recent graduate from the University of Arizona with bachelor’s degrees in Nutritional Sciences and Physiology & Medical Sciences.
Email: kmwing [at] uchicago [dot] edu
Ethan Bass, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow
I am a chemical ecologist broadly interested in the ecological functions and evolution of plant secondary metabolites. During my PhD, I focused on the role of polyacetylenes in functionally shaping microbial interactions of tall goldenrod. I also investigated the role of plant-soil feedbacks in mediating increased resistance to herbivory in the “push-pull” agricultural intercropping system developed at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe).
Website: https://ethanbass.github.io/
past mentees
| Year |
Name | Then | Now |
| 2023 | Nathaniel Pierce | U of MN research assistant | |
| Jason Chen | U of MN Dean’s Research Program | ||
| Kobe Hanson | U of MN Dean’s Research Program | Research assistant, University of Utah | |
| 2022 | C. Declan O’Leary | U of MN REU student | Field research assistant, UC Berkeley |
| 2019 | Samuel Pierce | RMBL field assistant | PhD student, Stanford University |
| 2018 | Allison Carter, MD | RMBL REU student | Resident physician |
| Kristin Olson | RMBL REU student | MS student, University of Lethbridge | |
| Tristram Dodge | RMBL field assistant | PhD candidate, Stanford University | |
| Lee Neighbors | RMBL field assistant | Graphic designer and conservation biologist, University of Alaska Anchorage | |
| Amy Zhao | Duke U research assistant | MD student, University of Michigan | |
| James Feng | Duke U independent study (2018-2020) | MD student, Dartmouth University | |
| 2017 | Leslie Macias | RMBL REU student (co-mentor: Kailen Mooney) |
|
| J.T. Poole, RN | RMBL REU student | Nurse | |
| Jackson Snow, MS | RMBL field assistant | Chemist, Tynt Technologies | |
| Victoria Grant | Duke U Research Scholars Program | PhD candidate, Stanford University | |
| 2016 | Anita Simha | RMBL REU student | PhD candidate, Duke University |
| Will De Vries | RMBL REU student | MD student, University of Kansas | |
| Nick Niezgoda | RMBL field assistant | R&D scientist, NutraStar | |
| Corinne Reid | RMBL field assistant | Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment | |
| Sam Mahanes, PhD | RMBL field assistant | Policy Fellow, California Council on Science & Technology | |
| Ryan Fitzgerald | Duke U research assistant | Child Health Analyst, Gates Ventures | |
| Celia Kohler | Duke U research assistant | Senior Clinical Research Specialist, Duke University Medical Center | |
| Thomas Paulson, MD | Duke U research assistant | Resident physician | |
| 2015 | Michaela Keefe | RMBL REU student | Professional Assistant, University of Colorado Boulder |
| Ryan Walker, MEM | RMBL REU student | GIS professional | |
| Laurel Schumm | RMBL REU student (co-mentor: Jill Anderson) |
Teacher, The Bay School | |
| Ryan Guzman | Duke U BioCoRE Scholar | Clinical Research Associate, IQVIA |
last updated January 2024
if you are a past mentee and have an update you’d like to share, please email Lauren