The Mitchell Lab

We are hiring two temporary Field Technicians to help with a project studying disease ecology and how climate variation, prior infection, and coinfection impacts fungal plant pathogen transmission in tall fescue. Please share! unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/271630

Excited to share our new manuscript! We show that reducing fungal diseases in plant communities can lower plant diversity and also amplify variation in community structure 🌿🌱 @MitchelllabUNC @fletch_halliday @KOKeeffe12 journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

We are looking for a postdoc (up to 4 years) to help lead a collaborative project, leveraging an experimentally tractable field system, on the roles of historical contingency, species interactions, and climate variation in seasonal epidemics. Please share! mitchelllab.web.unc.edu/postdocs/

We are looking for a full-time (w/benefits) Research Technician / Field & Lab Manager to work on disease ecology and transmission of fungal plant pathogens, including microbial species interactions and climate variation. Please share! unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/258541

Huge congratulations are in order for Dr. Julie Geyer! Julie successfully defended her dissertation on the plant microbiome. The lab awarded Dr. Geyer the prestigious "Golden Microbiome" for her incredible microbime research. Congratulations, Julie!! @UNC_GradSchool @UNC_Biology

Taking a break from Zelda ToK to share our new manuscript published in #PLOSONE: Historical contingency in parasite community assembly: Community divergence results from early host to symbionts and ecological drift dx.plos.org/10.1371/journa… @MitchelllabUNC @bnewjoy

Extremely proud of @UNC_Biology @MitchelllabUNC undergrads Evan Morgan and Natalie Harper for winning best undergraduate presentation this weekend at @Helm_Soc meeting! 🪱

Second year PhD student, Liz Troy, passed her oral exams this afternoon! We celebrated this milestone by decorating the lab with lots of streamers :) Congrats, @liztroyy!!

New preprint! We show that experimentally reducing disease in intact plant communities generally decreased plant diversity and increased variation in community structure. Such a fun collaboration w/ @fletch_halliday @KOKeeffe12 @bnewjoy @MitchelllabUNC biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

Our @WinspireU student, Carden, did an awesome job presented their research demonstrating that priority effects alter #fungal pathogens in vitro. Congrats, Carden!

Thanks for the shoutout! Dr. Mitchell makes expectations known and supports his students, so they can thrive in grad school :)

Welcome to our new Lab Manager, Bella Stiver! She graduated this spring from @UMichEEB and @PitEnvironment with interests in the #ecology and #evolution of fungal #pathogens. When not in the lab or field, she enjoys foraging, sewing, and crocheting. Welcome, Bella! @UNC_Biology

We are thrilled to welcome Liz Troy as a new PhD student! After graduating from @UVA, where she studied pollinator-vectored plant pathogen ecology and evolution, she now aims to study host-pathogen and leaf microbiome interactions within the framework of climate change.

Just wrapped up our annual EEID project meeting! Had some folks join virtually, and we had great discussions and presentations about the project's trajectory. Excited about the research to come!

What does field work look like? It differs based on the type of research being performed, but here’s what it looks like for us today! Featuring our summer research technician, Tania! #womeninstem #scicomm #thisiswhatascientistlookslike instagram.com/tv/CQJRUvQBd-a…

Our lab is looking for a full-time (salary & benefits!) lab and field manager/technician to work on disease ecology and transmission of fungal plant pathogens, including interactions with the leaf microbiome. Please pass along! Application link below: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/192121

Congrats to #UNC researchers Alan Jones and Corbin Jones for receiving a $1.2m grant to continue research around grasses in Ecuador - including #Galapagos- to better understand how their response to light can assist in developing shade tolerant crops! unc.live/3uM5xNI

A summer research technician position has opened up in our lab! If you’re interested in contributing to our research and getting hands-on field experience, apply to work with us by March 30th. Desired start date is May 10th!

Our lab was thrilled to work with the Museum of @lifeandscience and Durham Public Schools to create a virtual field trip to our lab! Check out @BrooklynnNewb and @etgreen_ecology sharing our research with the local community in this video! youtu.be/Dltzxt_o79A #Scicomm

Our lab manager, @BrooklynnNewb, has her first manuscript accepted for publication! Before joining us at @UNC, she participated in this research as an undergrad at @NCState. Congrats, Brooklynn!