Emily Minor, PhD
Professor & Director of Graduate Studies, 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 2025) Emily's Google Scholar profile A brief article about my career path, written by a UIC student |
Current lab members
Amber Domanus, MS Student
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Amber has done research with the Minor lab as an undergraduate at UIC, post-bac, and current masters student. She grew her knowledge and passion for urban ecology while getting her bachelor's degree in biology, and is currently interested in human-wildlife relationships and how socio-ecological factors affect urban biodiversity. Amber's past research includes a paper that was recently published in collaboration with the Minor lab, assessing how socio-ecological drivers influence the diversity of plants, birds, and lepidopterans in Chicago community gardens. In her free time, Amber likes to read and spend time with her cat, Penny. |
Grace Litavsky, MS Student
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Grace received her bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology from the University of Dayton, and is interested in arthropods in urban ecosystems. At UD, she contributed to research revolving around insect diversity in solar prairies. At UIC, she is co-advised by Dr. Ignacio Escalante Meza. Outside of school, she loves music, teaching dance, and walks along the lakefront! |
Nikolas Ballut, MS Student
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Nikolas has been in and out of the Minor lab as an undergraduate researcher, post-bac and now graduate 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. |
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. |
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. |
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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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)
