THE WHITEMAN LABORATORY
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Lauren Johnston

Picture
Education
B.S. student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Honors College, University of Arizona, 2009 – present

Honors and Awards
UBRP Fellow 2012
Phi Beta Kappa Society 2012
Honors College Undergraduate Research Grant 2012
Flinn Scholar class of 2009
National Merit Scholar class of 2009
Bonnevie Scholarship 2009
Elks Scholar 2009

Research 
I am interested in the evolution of host-parasite interactions within a community ecology context. I am currently working on my honors thesis with Dr. Noah Whiteman and Dr. Jennifer Koop. My project is looking for evidence of host-race formation in the Desert mistletoe, Phoradendron californicum. This dioecious, hemiparasitic plant is part of a keystone ecological interaction in the Sonoran Desert.  Desert mistletoe fruit in the winter months, providing an important food source for Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens), a common migrant bird. I will be developing microsatellite markers for mistletoe samples taken from Palo Verde trees and Velvet Mesquite trees, as well as attempting to map a chloroplast genome for each. We are also performing a reciprocal transfer experiment to determine if mistletoe experience differential survival on varying host tree species.  

Background 
I grew up in Tempe, Arizona, and moved to Tucson in 2009 to pursue a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a minor in Spanish. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking and camping around Tucson, reading, baking, and cooking (and eating). 


Picture
Left: Two mistletoe seeds placed on a branch of a Palo Verde tree for the reciprocal transfer experiment. Right: A Phainopepla perched on the top of a Velvet Mesquite tree infected with a desert mistletoe.
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The Whiteman Lab | Integrative Biology | University of California | Berkeley, CA 94720

Photographs are copyright protected by Noah Whiteman, Whiteman lab members, or were obtained through Creative Commons licenses.
  • Home
  • Group Members
    • Principal Investigator, Dr. Noah Whiteman
    • Research Specialist Susan Bernstein
    • Postdoctoral Researchers and Research Associates >
      • Dr. Samridhi Chaturvedi
      • Dr. Moe Bakhtiari
      • Dr. Benjamin Goldman-Huertas
      • Dr. Carolina Reisenman
    • Graduate Students >
      • Jessica Aguilar
      • Nicolas Alexandre
      • Diler Haji
      • Julianne Pelaez
      • Hiromu Suzuki
      • Rebecca Tarnopol
      • Kirsten Isabel Verster
    • Undergraduate Students >
      • Saron Akalu
      • Jaden Ha
      • Selah-Marie Grogan
      • Gillian Oaks
      • Ashleigh Takemoto
      • Jossie Tamsil
    • Former members >
      • Eric Rogers
      • Ted Chor
      • Dr. Teruyuki Matsanaga
      • Anna Pham
      • Anna Leipertz
      • Michael Astourian
      • Ashley Bendl
      • Elizabeth Ordeman
      • Bridget Cheng
      • Irene Liang
      • Gillian Montross
      • Esteban Rodas
      • Giovani Pimentel-Solorio
      • Faye Romero
      • Marissa Sandoval
      • Shivani Sundaram
      • Kannagi Yashroy
      • Derrick Yip
      • Haarini Sridhar
      • Sneha Agrawal
      • Dr. Marianna Karageorgi
      • Kevin Miao
      • Dr. Rebecca Duncan
      • Kelly D'Ambrogia
      • Jiarui Wang
      • Tim O'Connor
      • Judith Okoro
      • William Farley
      • Dr. Cathy Rushworth
      • Andy Gloss
      • Alana Augur
      • Hoon Pyon
      • Julianne Ray
      • Dr. Simon "Niels" Groen
      • Dr. David Hembry (PERT Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Dr. Jennifer Koop (PERT Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Dr. Anna Nelson Dittrich (PERT Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Dr. Rick Lapoint (PERT Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Dr. Paul Nabity (USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Christina Meyer
      • Parris Humphrey
      • Lea Flechon
      • Research Specialist, Tim Rast
      • Amir Abidov
      • Allan Castillo
      • Matt Cravens
      • Mitchell Feldmann
      • Jason Giles
      • Lauren Johnston
      • Noel Kitchen
      • Erika LaPlante
      • Matthew J. Velasquez
    • Internal page >
      • Protocols
      • Recommended Reading
  • Research
  • Publications
  • DEI
    • #leadership
    • #participation
    • #recruitment
    • #belonging
    • #accountability
  • Join
  • Contact
  • "Monarch Fly"