2023
February
Our SymDiv project was featured in the Alliance for Grassland Renewal newsletter. Read here
January
.
Rebecca McCulley and Alayna Jacobs attended the American Forage and Grassland Council conference in Winston Salem, NC. Rebecca was a featured speaker, presenting about climate resiliency in forage systems.
2022
December
Rebecca McCulley & Alayna Jacobs at graduation
Alayna successfully defended her dissertation. Congrats, Dr. Jacobs!! Alayna will begin a post doctoral fellowship with the USDA FAPRU unit located on the UK campus in 2023.
October
The McCulley Lab was well represented at the PSS 3 Minute Thesis competition. Alayna Jacobs won2nd place in the student category, and Rebecca McCulley won the People’s Choice Award in the faculty category. Rebecca McGrail won the trivia competition. Go team!
June
Kent Pham was featured in UK campus news as a recipient of the NSF Research Program Fellowship! Congrats, Kent!
March
Alayna & Dr. Wendroth preparing to meet with Andy Barr
Alayna Jacobs and Dr. Ole Wendroth and represented Team Kentucky at the Congressional Visits Day (CVD) on March 8 and 9, 2022. This annual event brings American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America members to Washington D.C. to meet with their Members of Congress and advocate for agricultural research funding. Society members usually travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress for CVD. However, the 2022 CVD took place on a virtual platform. Dr. Wendroth and Alayna met with Congressman Andy Barr and Senator Mitch McConnell to share how USDA grants benefit Kentucky’s economy, agricultural producers, and natural resources.
Rebecca’s accomplishments were featured by the Vice President of Research in celebration of Women Making History Month.
February
Lindsey Slaughter achieved tenure at Texas Tech University. Congratulations, Lindsey! Lindsey graduated from the McCulley Lab in 2016 and has since been an assistant professor at TTU.
2021
September
Rebecca McGrail joined the lab as a postdoctoral scholar. Rebecca is excited to further study studying root phenotypes and their impact of agroecosystem function. Welcome McG!
August
Rebecca was a guest on Eastern Standard, local NPR station, WEKU’s weekly public affairs program. Listening to her interview discussing the climate crisis and agriculture.
March
Lindsey Slaughter
Lab alum and assistant professor at Texas Tech University, Lindsey Slaughter was recently awarded her first lead PI grant from USDA-NIFA. She will be studying greenhouse gas production, with a focus on methane, in grass-legume pastures. Go Lindsey! Read more about Lindsey’s research in Texas Tech Today and in Morning Ag Clips, and see Lindsey talk about the project on her local news.
2020
November
Alayna won a UK Woman’s Club Fellowship. Congrats, Alayna!
August
Steve won first place and best use of a visual from the people's choice award in the UK Society of Postdoctoral Scholars Research Pitch Competition. Go Steve!
June
Alayna passed her qualifying exams and is now a PhD candidate. Congrats, Alayna!
May
Steve McBride joined the lab as a postdoctoral scholar. Steve is interested in volatile organic compound production in sustainable agricultural practices to increase soil organic matter and improve soil quality. Welcome Steve!
2019
Alayna Jacobs
January
Alayna Jacobs joined the lab. Alayna, a PhD student, arrives after a 12 year career with the USDA-NRCS. Welcome, Alayna!
2018
December
After working in the lab since her graduation, Mahtaab began a position at the UK Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Lexington.
August
Tony Lin arrived in the lab. Tony is a visiting forest ecologist from China and will be spending 6 months with us. Welcome!
July
Mahtaab successfully defended her thesis! Congrats, Mahtaab!
June
We said goodbye to Ellen, who is moving to LA to pursue work in environmental education and explore the west coast. Good luck, Ellen!
May
Our summer intern, Suranpornchai Supachai (Sax), from Maejo University in Thailand has arrived. Welcome, Sax!
Mahtaab and Mark Coyne
April
Mahtaab was awarded the Peaslee Award from the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.
March
Mahtaab took a trip, hosted by ASA CSA and SSSA, to Capitol Hill to advocate for more agricultural research funding, specifically asking for increased funding for USDA's competitive grants program, AFRI (Agriculture Food and Research Initiative).
Bridget left the lab after accepting a position overseeing greenhouse operations at Polly Hill Arboretum on Martha's Vineyard, MA. Good luck, Bridget!
January
Rebecca started as Chair of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.
2017
December
Mahtaab won first place in the poster competition at the Tracy Farmer Institute Sustainability Forum. Her poster was titled "Can increasing grass-fungal symbiotic diversity in fescue pastures improve long-term sustainability?" Great work, Mahtaab!
October
Patricia Paloma, recent Georgetown College graduate, joined the lab. Welcome, Patricia!
July
Welcome baby Rosemary, daughter of Elizabeth Carlisle and Adam Bachstetter. Rosemary is already hard at work, attending her first lab meeting in September.
May
Glade Brosi, a good fruit grower
Former M.S. student Glade Brosi was featured in "Good Fruit Grower." Glade is currently the Research and Development Manager for Stemilt Growers in Wenatchee, Washington. Check out the article and video profile here.
Payton May, a former undergraduate worker in the lab, is working to bring non-coal jobs to Appalachia as the creative director of Bitsource, a tech company in Pikeville, KY. Bitsource was the subject of a recent article in The Guardian; read the article here.
Ellen graduated from UK. Congrats, Ellen!
Payton May (right), creative director of Bitsource
April
Mahtaab won first place at the Spring 2017 UK Department of Plant and Soil Science Graduate Student Resarch Mini-Symposium with her talk entitled "Can manipulating plant-microbe genetic diversity improve tall fescue pasture sustainability?" Congrats, Mahtaab!
January
Bridget Reed, a recent UK Horticulture graduate, joined the lab.
2016
December
Lindsey's research was featured in this month's CSA News. Read the related story here.
October
Mahtaab won The University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment $500 Book Scholarship. The prize is part of Intercultural Awareness Day, “Women in CAFE – Empowering Our Future." Her essay entitled, ““Do you have a nickname?” gives encouragement to women and minorities, "...to seek out diversity and inclusion, and to lead by example; to show the young women of agriculture and beyond that they are not alone." Congratulations to Mahtaab for her accomplishment and bringing awareness of the challenges women aspiring to be in agriculture face today!
August
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh joined the lab as a Graduate Research Assistant, pursuing a M.S. Welcome, Mahtaab!
May
Rebecca was promoted to Full Professor.
Anna Joy graduated from Georgetown College.
Lindsey has accepted a position as a brand new Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University, where she will start in September 2016. Go Red Raiders!
Marie demonstrating how to measure photosynthesis for reporters.
Marie's research was featured in the CSA News Magazine. Read the story here.
Congrats to all!
Ellen Green, UK undergrad, joined the lab. Welcome, Ellen!
April
Lindsey successfully defended her dissertation. Congrats, Dr. Slaughter!
2015
November
Lin Dong finished his time in the McCulley Lab and has returned to China.
October
Lindsey's research on soil microbes and climate change was featured in this month's issue of CSA News Magazine.
August
Lindsey won 1st place with her talk on the interaction of fungal symbionts in tall fescue at the Fall 2015 Graduate Student Research Symposium in the Department of Plant and Soil Science.
Rebecca, Becca, and Lindsey traveled to Baltimore to present research results at the annual Ecological Society of America meetings.
Pierre will return to France at the end of the month for a brief stay and will be taking the next year off from school to work on relief efforts in Nepal.
Pierre and Anna Joy cleaning roots from the climate change project.
July
Anna Joy has finished her internship and research project investigating herbivory in tall fescue, and will spend the remainder of the summer at Marine officer training.
May
Anna Joy Thompson of Georgetown College has joined the lab for the summer. Anna Joy is funded through Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and will work on an independent research project during her time in the McCulley lab.
Becca stops to check out the native plants while hiking in Peru.
April
Becca Shelton successfully defended her thesis and completed her MS degree. Go Becca! Becca will be traveling to Peru to enroll in a Spanish language immersion program, and will then travel to Hawaii for a yoga teacher training. We're all very jealous.
Lindsey Slaughter giving her award-winning presentation at the ASA-CSA-SSSA conference in Long Beach, CA.
Pierre Mas, an undergraduate from AgroSup Dijon, France, arrived. Pierre will be working in the lab through August.
February
Lindsey Slaughter participated in UK Graduate Student Day at the Capitol in Frankfort, KY. The goal of this event is to promote communication between graduate students and legislators. Lindsey presented a poster titled "Fungal Endophyte Symbiosis Alters Nitrogen Source of Tall Fescue Host, But Not N2-Fixation in Co-Occurring Red Clover."
January
Lindsey Slaughter won 2nd place in the Emerging Scientist Competition at the 2015 American Forage and Grassland Council Annual Meeting in St. Louis. Her oral presentation was entitled "How does the aboveground fungal endophyte Epichloe coenophiala impact root colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in tall fescue?" Go Lindsey!
2014
December
Lindsey Slaughter is now a Certified Forage and Grasslands Apprentice (certification is through the AFGCA). Well done!
Marie Bourguignon with her poster at the ASA-CSA-SSSA conference in Long Beach, CA.
November
Lin Dong, visiting PhD student from China, arrived. He will be working in the lab for the next year. Welcome, Lin!
Lindsey Slaughter took first prize in the Robert F Barnes C06 Graduate Student Oral Competition at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting in Long Beach, CA. Congrats Lindsey!!!
Former graduate student Marie Bourguignon won 3rd place in the CO3-Crop Ecology Poster Competition at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting in Long Beach, CA, presenting work done in the McCulley lab. Go Marie!!!
October
Welcome baby Oak, son of Sarah Hall & Jake Royse!
Baby Oak
September
Dan Weber will be leaving the lab to take a position as the lab coordinator in the Biology Department at UK. Congrats & good luck, Dan!
August
Rebecca, Jim, and Lizzie returned from their sabbatical in Portugal. Welcome home guys!
Kari Saikkonen (MTT Agrifood Research Finland) and Marjo Helander (University of Turku), visiting scientists, arrived from Finland. They will be in the lab for the remainder of 2015. Welcome!
Kari Saikkonen and Marjo Helander
Lindsey Slaughter received 2nd place for her proposal talk in the IPSS Grad Student Mini Symposium. Go Lindsey!
June
Becca Shelton represented UK as a student cultivator and presented a poster at the Farm Foundation's bi-annual meeting in Oklahoma.
May
Dan Weber
Michael Hurak, UK undergrad majoring in Sustainable Agriculture, joined the lab as a student worker for the summer. Welcome Michael!
April
Dan Weber succesfully defended his M.S. thesis and will continue his work in the lab as a technician. Congrats Dan!
January
Rebecca, Jim, and Lizzie will be in Lisbon, Portugal on sabbatical through the end of July, 2014.
2013
July
Jihan Ahmed left the lab to and will be pursuing a Ph.D. in microbiology at UK beginning in 2014. Best wishes, Jihan!
Marie Bourguignon successfully defended her M.S. thesis and is immediately beginning work towards a Ph.D. at Iowa State University. Congrats & good luck, Marie!
Becca Shelton joined the lab as a Graduate Research Assistant, pursuing a M.S.
May
Eric Kalosa-Kenyon, an undergraduate from Brown University, joined the lab for the summer as part of UK's Suburban Ecology and Invasive Species REU.
April
Ben Leffew successfully defended his M.S. thesis. Ben will be the Assistant Property Manager at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, KY.
2012
July
Lindsey Slaughter successfully defended her thesis and completed her M.S. Lindsey will begin work immediately as a Ph.D. student in the lab. Congrats Lindsey!
Maryam Javed
Welcome to baby Charlotte Michael, daughter of Luke Box and Ellen Lacey!
Welcome to baby Maryam Javed, daughter of Javed and Nazya Iqbal!
June
Dan Weber, a former undergraduate summer worker, has returned to the lab as a Graduate Research Assistant after completing his B.S. at the Univeristy of Kansas.
May
Dawn DeColibus, an undergraduate from Ohio Northern University, joined the lab for the summer as part of UK's Suburban Ecology and Invasive Species REU.
February
Wendell Boreal Brosi
Welcome to baby Wendell Boreal, son of Glade Brosi and Andrea Bixby-Brosi!
2011
August
Marie Bourguigon, a former summer intern from Dijon, France, joined the lab as a Graduate Research Assistant and is pursuing a M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences.
Dr. Javed Iqbal left the lab for a position as a post-doctoral scholar at Iowa State University.
July
Sarah Hall successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation and graduated. She will begin a position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences at Berea College in August. Sarah also got married to Jake Royce this month. Congrats Sarah!
Cody Burton completed his M.S. degree. He will begin working towards a PhD. at Louisiana State University in August. Congrats Cody!
Jihan Ahmed joined the group as a lab technician.
2010
December
Glade Brosi successfully defended his thesis and completed his M.S. Congrats Glade!
October
Ben Leffew (B.S. Univ of Kentucky 2007) joined the lab as a Graduate Research Assistant and is pursuing a M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences.
August
Lindsey Slaughter (B.S Univ of Tennessee at Martin 2010) joined the lab as a Graduate Research Assistant and is pursuing a M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences.
2009
November
Dr. Javed Iqbal from Layyah, Punjab, Pakistan joined our lab as a post-doctoral scholar.
October
Rebecca McCulley was awarded '2009 Distinguished Alum' of the Colorado State University Graduate Degree Program in Ecology. Congrats Rebecca!!
August
Cody Burton (B.S. Kansas State University 2009) joined the lab as a Graduate Research Assistant and is pursuing a M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences.
July
Glade Brosi and Andrea Bixby (Ph.D. candidate Dept. of Entomology) are engaged to be married!! Congrats you guys!!
May
The switches were flipped on the University of Kentucky Global Climate Change Project (DOE-NICCR). Thanks everyone for the hard work!!
April
Elizabeth Carlisle (B.S. Tulane Univ. 2003; M.S. Fordham Univ. 2006) joined our lab as a research technician.