Sandra Durán, Assistant Professor
Sandra.Duran@colostate.edu
I am originally from Colombia, and thus I have always been fascinated by the incredible biodiversity present in tropical regions. I am interested in understanding how plant biodiversity changes across environmental gradients, and how those changes affect ecosystem processes and functions. Specifically, my work focuses on developing new methods and elaborating theory for how functional traits can be used to “scale up” from individual to communities and ecosystems.
Mohammad Saif, Postdoctoral fellow
ms.saif@colostate.edu https://saif8091.github.io/saif.github.io/
Born in Bangladesh, I witnessed firsthand the rapid loss from human development, sparking my interest in sustainable natural resource use. Trained as an electrical engineer, I earned a Ph.D. in Imaging Science focusing on advancing precision agriculture through remote sensing. I am now interested in using remote sensing to understand plant biodiversity and ecosystem function. My goal is to apply imaging-based methods to better understand environmental processes and support sustainable ecosystem and land management.
Aylin Barreras, PhD student
aylin.barreras@colostate.edu
I am a Mexican PhD student in the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology. I have an undergraduate degree in environmental science and a masters in natural resources management. I chose this career path motivated by my deep curiosity for understanding how plants function. I am fascinated by the science behind the droplets of morning dew on top of tree leaves. For my PhD, I am examining seasonal tree water relations and the tradeoffs between water use and carbon dynamics.
Alyssa Mathews, master student
alyssa.mathews@colostate.edu (co-supervised with Heidi Hausermann)
I was born and raised on Hawaii Island. Growing up with a strong connection to the community and nature instilled a strong sense of environmental stewardship. I am passionate about applying spatial tools to tackle environmental challenges. For my undergraduate degree I used remote sensing to monitor local sea-level rise on Hawai’i Island, and currently for my master degree, I am utilizing fine-scale spatial data and high-resolution satellite imagery to assess land-uses/cover changes associated with goldmining in Ghana.
Ava Tolbert, undergraduate honors thesis student
Ava.Tolbert@colostate.edu
I grew up in North Carolina and the California Bay Area, and have always felt a deep connection to plants, insects, and nature. I’m pursuing a bachelors degree in Restoration Ecology, with a minor in Entomology, Plant Health, and Botany. I am particularly drawn to sustainable agriculture, plant-pollinator relationships, and plant diversity. In my honor thesis I am developing a habitat suitability framework to guide restoration strategies for Dirca occidentalis, an endangered species endemic to California.
Alumni
Graduate students
Johanna Martínez-Villa, PhD, Université du Québec à Montréal (co-advised with C. messier 2020-2024)
Heira Luque-Apodaca, Visitor master student from ITSON, Sonora, Mexico (Summer 2025)
Undergraduate students
Independent study students
Margaret Monaghan, undergraduate student (co-advised with E. Gallo-Cajiao, 2025-2026)
Kate Laidlaw, undergraduate student (co-advised with E. Gallo-Cajiao, 2025-2026)
Kyla Wolffee, undergraduate student (2025-2026)
Kendall Iida, undergraduate student (2024-2025)