Emily Minor, PhD
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
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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 |
Current lab members
Nikolas Ballut, PhD Student
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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 Garcia, PhD Student
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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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Sital Budhathoki , PhD Student
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Sital joined the lab in 2024. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Her primary interest lies in exploring mammal ecology in urban areas. Her past research was focused on the diversity and habitat association of small mammals in urban forest patches. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, journaling , and spending time with pets. |
Philip Johnson, PhD Student
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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. |
Former lab members (gone but not forgotten)
- Elsa Anderson (former PhD student)
- Amy Belaire (former PhD student),
- Amelie Davis (former postdoctoral researcher)
- Megan Garfinkel (former PhD student and postdoctoral researcher)
- Maryam Gharehaghaji (former PhD student)
- Sheryl Hosler (former PhD student)
- Bianca Lopez (former postdoctoral researcher)
- David Lowenstein (former PhD student)
- Kevin Matteson (former postdoctoral researcher)
- Michael (Benji) Roberts (former MS student)
- Yuliana Rowe (former MS student)
- Alex Silva (former MS student)
- Alexis Smith (former PhD student)
