New paper on the effects of organic amendments on the urban soil microbiome (11/7/2024)
Very excited to share the first paper from my UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship research! In this project, we found organic amendments derived from local municipal waste products have huge effects on microbiomes found in urban soils and, interestingly, they could also help improve crop taste. A big thank you to all of my collaborators on this project, especially the Bay Area urban agriculture community for all their help and support. Check it out here!
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929139324004621
WaterTalk Podcast episode (10/16/2024)
Very honored to be featured on the WaterTalk podcast! In this episode, I had the pleasure of discussing urban farming, regenerative agriculture, composting, and water conservation with the amazing Dr. Mallika Nocco and Dr. Sam Sandoval. Check it out here! https://www.watertalkpodcast.com/episodes/episode-57
Summer research and extension (7/18/2024)
It has been a great summer season with some awesome projects underway!
In May, I traveled out to Michigan to begin a very exciting collaboration with the Long-Term Agroecological Research Trial at the Kellogg Biological Station as part of my NSF PRFB work. In this project, we are working together to examine if crop rotations with higher diversity may have higher soil phosphorus cycling activity compared to conventional corn-soybean systems using classical soil physicochemical analyses, metatranscriptomics, and mathematical modelling. Analyses are currently underway, and we should have some data very soon!
Last month, I also began a new partnership with Local Ecology and Agriculture Fremont (LEAF) to expand on my urban soils research in the Bay Area. For our project together, we are collecting soil samples from LEAF’s three urban gardens to assess what impacts regenerative agricultural management practices may have had on in ground soil at the site. Specifically, we are examining soil fauna and microorganisms, heavy metals, and soil carbon and nutrition with the help of LEAF’s Science Team and Students for LEAF. You can read more about this project here: https://www.fremontleaf.org/post/leaf-news-july-2024
Finally, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Urban Tilth’s North Richmond farm last week to facilitate a two-day workshop on soil testing and soil health as part of the Rudy Lozito Fellowship Program. It was so lovely to work with the fellows and to see all the inspiring work Urban Tilth is doing in Richmond!
New position at UC Merced (3/14/2024)
Beyond excited to share that I’ve received my dream job and accepted a tenure track faculty position with the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Merced! My research group will focus on soil microbial ecology and sustainable agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley and across Northern California in collaboration with field-based and urban farmers. A big thank you to the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for providing me a pathway to this amazing position and supporting me throughout the whole hiring process. Another big thank you to all of my friends, family, and mentors that helped me get to this point in my career and empowered me in so many different ways throughout my journey. Lastly, a big thank you to UC Merced for giving me this amazing opportunity and investing in me and my work. It’s honestly a dream come that I’ll get to collaborate with the inspiring communities we have in Northern California, my home and a place that I love very much, to build sustainable food systems together.
I’ll be finishing up my postdoctoral projects in Davis for the next year and starting my position as a professor at Merced in the summer of 2025. Until then, if you know anyone looking for a lab to join, please feel free to send them my way!
UC Davis Graduate Studies Interview (10/2/2023)
Very honored to be interviewed by UC Davis Graduate Studies and to have my work on urban agriculture featured on their website. Check out the interview here! https://grad.ucdavis.edu/news/uc-presidents-postdoctoral-fellow-returns-davis-advocate-urban-agriculture
Civic Urban Farmer Program (9/23/2023)
I’ve had such a wonderful time being part of the UC Davis Western Institute for Food Safety and Security’s Civic Urban Farmer Program this past month! I had the honor of helping facilitate two webinars and four in person events while also meeting and learning from some amazing urban farmers from around Northern California. We also got to take some field trips and visit some amazing urban farms in the region!
National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology (3/27/2023)
Very excited to share that in addition to the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship I have also been awarded the National Science Foundation’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology! My project for the PRFB will examine how diversified crop rotations in the Midwest and Canada can support biological soil phosphorus cycling using soil physicochemical and metatranscriptomic techniques. Super honored to receive both awards and to get the opportunity to bring my research ideas to fruition!
Global Soil Biodiversity Conference in Dublin, Ireland (3/19/2023)
It was very exciting to be part of the UC Davis Delegation at the Global Soil Biodiversity Conference in Dublin, Ireland! I gave a talk on one of my dissertation chapters as well as a poster on a postdoctoral project of mine. It was great to meet so many awesome soil scientists from around the world and get some inspiration for new projects. It was also great getting to sightsee and enjoy Ireland’s beauty!
