Emily completed her PhD in Ecology at Duke University in 2006. She received a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Parks Ecological Research program (NPER) and did her postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Appalachian Lab. She joined the Department of Biological Sciences at UIC in 2008.
Emily's CV (updated May 2023) Emily's Google Scholar profile A brief article about my career path, written by a UIC student |
Nikolas has been in and out of the Minor lab as an undergraduate researcher, post-bac and now PhD student. He has extensive field experience in tallgrass prairies researching songbirds and in the Ugandan jungle researching wild chimpanzees. Nikolas has a long-standing interest in human evolution and behavior which has led to his current research interest: the human relationship with wildlife, namely birds, in urban environments. In his free time, Nikolas is also a performing musician playing regularly at Chicago music venues. |
Soraida is a native born Chicagoan of Puerto Rican heritage who earned her Bachelors degree in Environmental Science. After pursuing a career in real estate investments, she decided to return to academia to follow her passion advocating for wildlife. Soraida has been involved with research at Argonne National Laboratories and The Field Museum, and obtained a MS degree from Purdue University researching human and wildlife relationships using computer simulation models. In the future, Soraida would like to volunteer her time and expertise at a non-profit organization that supports animal rights. She would also like to mentor underrepresented students so they have the proper guidance needed to navigate their way through graduate school.
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Sheryl joined the lab after completing her Master's at Northern Illinois studying restoration management effects on the dung beetle communities in tallgrass prairie. Her research interests continue to focus on the interactions of humans and wildlife in managed systems with an emphasis on ecosystem function. In addition to her research, Sheryl is also a science communicator. She is on the organizing committee for both regional and national ComSciCon events, as well as running two different YouTube channels and being an officer in an educational multimedia creator organization. Sheryl's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/therovingnaturalist
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Philip joined the lab in 2017 after earning his Bachelors degree in Plant Biology from the University of Minnesota in 2016. As an undergraduate, he spent time in a variety of research labs ranging from animal behavior to plant genetics, but discovered a passion for plant ecology after a few semesters in a plant ecophysiology lab. His current interests include plant ecology in urban and urbanizing environments, and connecting plant community patterns to larger landscape effects. |