Intestinal pathogen surveillance in Los Angeles region mammals
Awardee: Sarah Helman, Ph.D. in Professor Jamie Lloyd-Smith's lab. Sarah is interested in disease surveillance of marine and terrestrial mammals along the California coast.
Projects
Investigating divergence with gene flow in the plant genus Linanthus
Awardee: Ioana Anghel, second year Ph.D. student in the Zapata Lab. Ioana is interested in the drivers of diversification and how taxa maintain their phenotypic and genetic identity while co-existing in a small area with the potential to hybridize.
K-12 Outreach
Focused on education, inclusion, and empowerment, CDLS fellows design immersive lesson plans and hands-on science experiments for K-12 students in California and other regions. Our K-12 outreach team serves as…
Known and emerging risks to small island developing states
Islands are particularly vulnerable to environmental risks from climate change and natural disasters. These risks can be especially hazardous to a small-scale island economy and have cascading effects; for example,…
Los Angeles Sustainability Plan
The County of Los Angeles has developed the first county-wide sustainability plan, and has contracted with UCLA, in collaboration with the engineering firm Buro Happold, and with Liberty Hill Foundation.…
Only one way to succeed in a city? Urban Dark-eyed Junco adaptation across multiple novel environments
Awardee: Eleanor Diamont, Ph.D. in the Yeh Lab. Eleanor is interested in using the Dark-eyed Junco as a model system to understand how birds can cope with and adapt to urban stressors.
Post-fire impact on biological community of coastal lagoons in southern California
Awardee: Rachel Turba de Paula, Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Rachel studies population genetics of endangered and extirpated species in southern California, as well as community change in coastal lagoons to address local conservation efforts.
Quantifying the effects of soil microbes on California annual plant community dynamics
Awardee: Gaurav S. Kandlikar, PhD candidate and NSF Graduate Research fellow in Dr. Nathan Kraft’s plant community ecology group. Gaurav is deeply fascinated by the origins and consequences of diversity, and in his research he uses a combination of ecological theory, field experiments, and molecular techniques to study the ecological processes that help maintain plant species diversity, especially in southern California grasslands.
Queer and Trans in STEM
Our partner organization, Queer and Trans in STEM (QTSTEM), was formed by Andrea O’Riordan, Jeremy Engels, Hannah Friedman, and Robert N. Ulrich. They wanted to create a space for LGBTQ+…
Reducing Wildfire Risk in Southern California
Wildfires in California are becoming more frequent and destructive, resulting in increased loss of property and life. In November 2018 alone, fires throughout the state caused up to an estimated…
Renewable Energy: 2019-2020 Focus
Policymakers are pushing to not just increase integration of renewable energy, but to transform our energy systems into systems dominated by renewables at local, state, and national levels. LA’s Green…
Research Tours
Our fellows inspire people who are curious to learn what environmental research looks like at a major research institution. Visitors attend group or individual tours and become inspired by seeing…