PI: LEONORA BITTLESTON

Email: leonorabittleston@boisestate.edu

Leonora is fascinated by the complex interactions that form between very different kinds of organisms. She wants to learn more about life on our planet, taking into account the interconnectedness of ecosystem processes, communities, and species.

Before joining Boise State, Leonora was a James S. McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow in Complex Systems with Dr. Otto Cordero at MIT. She earned her PhD from the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University with Dr. Naomi Pierce and Dr. Anne Pringle. She grew up in California, and attended U.C. Berkeley for undergrad.

Jess Gronniger - Postdoc

Jess is interested in identifying the mechanisms underlying microbial community assembly, diversity, and coexistence using model bacterial communities.

Jess earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Davidson College and her PhD in microbial ecology from Duke University. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dog Cali, SCUBA diving, and exploring new places. 

Elle Horwath - EEB PhD Program

Elle is interested in the relationships between plant chemical composition and microbial communities in the local Sagebrush steppe ecosystem, with the hope of building conservation avenues using plant-microbe interactions. 

Elle received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in environmental science from the University of Nevada, Reno. In her spare time, she enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, and fly-fishing.

Visit Elle’s website.

Adedotun Arogundade - EEB PhD Program

Adedotun is interested in using microbiological, molecular, and bioinformatic tools to answer plant microbial ecology questions.

He received his bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Nigeria and his Masters degree in biology from Boise State University. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, checkers, and video games.

Visit Ade’s website.

Fiona Harrigian - EEB PhD Program

Fiona is interested in interactions between microorganisms, and specifically those that determine which microbial species can coexist in a community. She plans to research how microbial predators (protists), parasites (bacteriophages), and a greater variety of competitors (yeasts) may impact bacterial coexistence. She would also like to add these synthetic microbial communities to pitcher plants in a greenhouse to determine whether the mechanisms found to control coexistence in a laboratory setting apply to a more realistic setting.

Fiona received her Master's degree in Biological Sciences from Bowling Green State University and Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from Wellesley College. When she has free time, she enjoys running, skiing, reading, and looking at beautiful microbes under the microscope.

Chadwick DeFehr - Biology Masters Program

Chadwick transferred from the College of Western Idaho to Boise State to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Biology in 2022, a choice informed by experiences with thoughtful mentors and teachers Andrea Schumaker and Dusty Perkins.

In the Bittleston lab he has been able to explore his interest in the tiny, easily overlooked communities that affect their larger, more traditionally charismatic neighbors, and his interest in accessible technology and education. His non-botanical interests include language learning, evidence-based nutrition, and agrarian reform. 

Jaycee Fahrner - EEB PhD program

Jaycee is interested in microbial community dynamics under stress. In particular, she is fascinated by the drivers of facilitation vs. competition in communities. She plans to research how environmental stressors may predict changes in microbial community function and coexistence mechanisms. She is excited to explore the impact of these interactions on pitcher plant hosts.

Jaycee earned her Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of California, Irvine. Outside the lab, she loves to cook, walk around aimlessly with an overpriced coffee in hand, hang out with her cat, and hunt for cool finds at local thrifts.

Denisse Larin-Henriquez - Research Associate and Lab Manager

Denisse is fascinated by microbial evolution and the symbiotic relationships between a community of diverse microbial species. By studying microbes within different niches, she hopes to develop a deeper understanding about the ecosystem we live in.  

Denisse received her bachelor’s degree in General Biology with a minor in Marine Science from the University of California San Diego. In her free time, she loves to rockhound for gems and minerals, read philosophy books, and learn new skills.

Dawn Bolen  - M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Partners in Science Affiliate

Dawn is interested in introducing secondary students to scientific research practices and projects in our region. Through rigorous science opportunities, team sustainability and conservation projects, she offers students from all backgrounds a path to join efforts to improve the future of our planet through education and action. 

Dawn earned her Associates in Science from Grand Rapids Community College, her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and her Master of Education degree in Educational Technology at Boise State University. She is the Sustainability Lead, and an Academic Advisor for Science Olympiad, STEAM Club, and the Green Team in her school.

Visit Dawn’s website.

Megan Stovall - C3 VIP course and Summer researcher

Megan is especially interested in microbial communities and how their diversity has an impact on other living things. She enjoys working with statistics and finding ways to effectively communicate results of an experiment through many different mediums.

Megan will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical emphasis as well as a minor in Psychology in the spring of 2026. She plans to attend graduate school in the future. In her free time, she loves to run, rock climb, and go rafting.

Grant Jakobson - Summer Researcher

Grant is currently an undergraduate student with Dr. Carolyn Dadabay at College of Idaho, and worked collaboratively with our lab group during summer 2025.

Audra Kelly - C3 VIP Course

Audra is curious about the hidden interactions that keep our ecosystem thriving. She aims to learn more about the “things we don't think about,” such as fungi, microbes, and insects, understanding the way that they quietly shape the environment that we know and love. 

Audra will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with an emphasis in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior in the winter of 2027. From there, she plans to attend graduate school, specifically a microbiology program. In her free time, you can find Audra spending time in nature, especially to find insects and fungi. If not adventuring, she is playing the fiddle or guitar or simply reading a good book.

Kyah Vlcek

Project SEED summer high school researcher, 2025

Mitchell Edwards

SARE program summer 2022, C3 VIP student 2022-2025

Abbagayle Hannebaum

C3 VIP course and summer student researcher, 2023-2025

JACOB HEIL

PhD student from 2020-2025. Current Postdoc at the University of Idaho in the Kobziar Lab.

Jessica Bernardin

PhD student from 2020-2024 and postdoc from 2024-2025. Current Postdoctoral Researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Lab.

Visit Jessica’s website.

Dani Babcock

B2B and C3 VIP student, 2023-2025

Katie Kim

High school researcher during summers 2024 and 2025. Current undergraduate student at Brown University.

Maddy Skinner

Bridges to Baccalaureate Program, 2022-2024. Current Biology Masters student at Boise State University in Forbey Lab.

Siena Fox

SARE and C3 VIP student, 2023-2024. Current EEB PhD student at Boise State University in Simler-Williamson Lab.

Amaya Aranda

Project SEED High School Student, Summer 2024. Currently an Undergraduate at University of Utah.

Brianna Sali

Undergraduate Researcher, 2024

Holly Morrison

C3 VIP Course and SARE program, 2023-2024

Chih-Yun Chen

Part-time research associate, 2023-2024

Rachel Capezza

B2B Program Undergraduate Student, 2021-2023

Mikael Strix

C3 VIP course, Lab Technician and SARE Undergraduate, 2022-2023

Paula Alvarez

B2B Program Undergraduate Student, Summer 2023

Mauricio Nava

SARE Undergraduate Student, Summer 2023

Michael Robison

Undergraduate Research Technician, C3 VIP and SARE student from 2022-2023

Kaitlyn Opland

C3 VIP student from 2022-2023

Erica HOLDMORE (Prev. Holdridge)

NSF Postdoctoral Scholar, 2021-2022

Currently a Computational Biologist II in the Department of Data Science at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Previously an Assistant Professor at Stonehill College in MA.

Mauston Beauchaine

C3 VIP Course and Lab Tech 2022

Aubrey Osorio

Undergraduate Research Technician and SARE Summer student from 2020-2022. Currently in the Optometry Program at UC Berkeley.

Stacey Pedraza

Undergraduate Research Technician and HERC Fellow from 2020-2022. Currently a PhD student at the University of Rochester.

Miranda Striluk

Visiting SARE researcher and CWI liasion from 2021-2022

Marcus Emmen

SARE Undergraduate Student from CWI in Summer 2021, and lab member until 2022

leslie nichols

Research Technician and Lab Manager, 2020

Franco Nero

SARE Undergraduate Student, Summer 2021