Carolyn Lowry, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Weed Ecology and Management

Carolyn joined the Plant Science Department at Penn State in January 2020 as an Assistant Professor of Weed Ecology and Management. Her work applies basic ecological knowledge towards improving the functioning and resilience of agroecosystems, largely focusing on managing weedy plants.

Carolyn’s current research interests include investigating and predicting the effects that long term temperature changes will have on weeds and weed management; as well as understanding how root traits and belowground dynamics influence weed interference and community assembly.

Emma Rice

PhD Candidate, Ecology Program

Emma is interested in agroecology, belowground root community interactions, and agricultural sustainability. Her research is focused on cover crop and cover crop-weed belowground root functional diversity and its effects on ecosystem services.

Prior to arriving at Penn State, she worked as a Research Associate in a molecular ecology lab at Montana State University and earned a MS in biology at Grand Valley State University. Both experiences allowed Emma to investigate the efficacy of different management strategies on terrestrial and aquatic weed species.

In her free time Emma likes to hang out with her cats and get outside to hike, bike, kayak, garden, and travel.

Nasib Koirala

PhD Candidate, Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science

I come from the plain lands in the mountainous country of Nepal. My current research focuses on understanding how temperature changes affect forage crops and associated weed behaviors. This could help us to make a strategy to maintain resiliency in the forage cropping system.

Before Joining Penn State in 2022, I got my MS in Horticulture and Crop Science from The Ohio State University.

I enjoy playing sports, gardening, trekking, and outdoor activities.

Katherine Blocklove

PhD Candidate, Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science

Katherine studies how interactions between invasive grasses and the rhizosphere microbiome influence soil nutrient cycling. Her work explores mechanisms of invasion persistence, and seeks to identify opportunities for ecologically-sustainable management.

She graduated from Brandeis University with a B.S. in Neuroscience, Biology, and Psychology. With work experience in organic agriculture and community food distribution, Katherine’s aim is to study the plant role in the nitrogen cycle to enhance the sustainability and resilience of future crops.

Katherine joined the Lowry Lab in 2022 and is co-advised by Dr. Jesse Lasky in the Biology department at the Huck Institute of Life Sciences as part of the Root Resiliency Fellowship.

In her free time, Katherine enjoys crafting, illustration, and gardening.

Website

Illustration

Maya Hoffman

Masters Student, Ecology Program

Maya is studying the impact of cover crop seeding rates on the provisioning of ecosystem services in agricultural systems.

She is originally from Springfield, Illinois, but went to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota where she majored in biology and minored in biochemistry.

Maya joined the Lowry lab in the fall of 2024 and is co-advised by Dr. Jason Kaye. Her research interests include agroecology, nutrient cycling, and sustainable management practices.

In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, reading, thrifting, and hiking/being in nature.

Sheryl Hosler, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Scholar

Dr. Sheryl Hosler is working on the synthesis of a long-term project investigating ecosystem service provisioning by cover crop mixtures in conventional row-crop agriculture systems.

She received her M.S. in Biological Sciences from Northern Illinois University and her PhD from the University of Illinois Chicago.

Dr. Hosler’s research interests include ecosystem functions and trait-based analyses, community ecology, and human-dominated landscapes. Sheryl also has over 10 years of experience in conducting science communication for non-expert audiences, including 8+ years of experience creating multimedia scicomm content and broad collaborative experience.

Website

Youtube

Allie Rice

Masters Student, Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science

Allie is a dedicated plant scientist from Pennsylvania. She earned her B.S. in Plant Science with a focus in horticulture from Penn State in 2023.

After ten years of studying horticulture, she found a passion for weed science while taking a class with Dr. Lowry. Her master's project involves investigating weed seedbank dynamics and weed supression in relation to annual and perennial crop rotations.

Outside of academics, Allie is an avid gardener, self-published author, and artisan.

Beth Ekhert

Laboratory Technician

Beth shifted to the Weed Ecology lab in July 2023 after working in Penn State Athletics for 18 years. She continues to be an independent figure skating coach with the Nittany Valley Figure Skating Club when not enjoying the great outdoors and taking care of her family and helping out with lab research projects.

Working in the College of Agriculture has been a 360 degree moment for her, since she was raised on a dairy farm, was involved with dairy promotion and toured the College of Ag as a prospective student back in the early 1980s. A banking career and a site license administrator for the Center for Academic Computing round out her previous work paths. She loves that the research lab technician position offers something new each week and expands her knowledge and curiosity of plants. Her favorite job so far with the lab was counting canola flowers in a test plot.

In her spare time she loves to spend time with her family & cats, garden, travel, skate, hike and is an avid photographer.

LAB ALUMNI

Ashley Isaacson, MS

Current position: PSU Extension Educator (Dauphin County)

Ashley graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2019 with a B.S. in Crop Sciences with a concentration in Agroecology. She joined the Lowry Lab in the fall of 2020 to study how elevated temperatures could affect weed communities in perennial forages.

Additionally, Ashley is interested in developing greater scientific communication skills and learning about how farmers can adapt to a changing climate.

Ashley also enjoys reading, trying new recipes, embroidery, and bird watching.

Kara Eckert, MS

Website

Current Position: Conservation Program

Specialist for Team Ag (Lancaster, PA)

Kara is a State College native with a diverse background in domestic and international plant experience. She is driven by a pursuit for sustainability in all aspects of life, but especially in agriculture.

At Susquehanna University, she participated in study abroad opportunities in England, Mexico and Puerto Rico where she engaged in various ecological and ethnobotanical programs. For her Masters, Kara studied seedbank weed seed mortality and seed-degrading microbes in perennial crop and cover crop systems that could assist with ecological weed management.

In her free time, Kara loves hiking and foraging, and when she's not in the woods, you can find her horseback riding and walking her cat.

David Long

Research Technologist

David joined the Weed Ecology lab in April 2023. He has been a laboratory technician/technologist for the last 18 years. He previously worked for the University of Florida, the USDA-ARS, and has spent the last 12 years at PSU in the Entomology Department.

When he is not working, he enjoys reading, cooking, home improvement projects, worshiping his cat, and is an unashamed Lego addict.