Dr. Kusum Naithani

Ph.D. (Ecology, 2009) | kusum@uark.edu

Kusum grew up in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Isabella Thoburn College (University of Lucknow), a master’s degree in Environmental Science from the G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, and a doctoral degree in Ecology from the University of Wyoming. She worked as a postdoctoral associate and research faculty at Penn State before joining UofA. In her spare time, she enjoys watching movies, taking pictures, reading literature from different countries, visiting new places, and learning about different cultures.

Dr. Lilia Stemet

Ph.D. (Entomology, 2024) | stemet@uark.edu

BIOLEAPS Project Coordinator (2025 - Present)

Lilia grew up on the island of Maui in Hawaii and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California, but has since lived in the Ozarks longer than anywhere else. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture from the University of California in Santa Cruz, a master’s degree in Environmental Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and a doctoral degree in Agricultural, Food and Life Science with a concentration in Entomology from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Her research interests include restoration ecology and plant and insect biodiversity. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, swimming, nature photography, dancing, singing, cooking, and spending time with her friends and two teenage daughters.

Dr. Mitchell Pruitt

Ph.D. (Biology, 2024) | mlpruitt@uark.edu

Visiting Assistant Professor (2024 - Present)

Mitchell is a native of Arkansas and has a passion for avian ecology and conservation. He completed a bachelor’s degree in Environmental, Soil, and Water Science at the University of Arkansas in 2016 and finished his graduate career with a Ph.D. in Biology at the same institution in May 2024. Mitchell enjoys working with raptors, especially owls, and is interested in using these important predators to approach community-level questions regarding species occurrence and habitat resilience in regions with growing human populations. In his spare time, Mitchell enjoys travelling, birding, photography, gardening, and pretty much anything else that gets him outside and/or experiencing new places.

Alexis O'Callahan

Distinguished Doctoral Fellow (2020 - Present) | Ph.D. Candidate (ENDY, 2023 - Present)

Graduate Certificate (Sustainability, 2022) | Project: NEON

Alexis is a Hudson County, NJ native where she graduated from Saint Peter's University with a B.S. in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Philosophy in 2019. She completed her Honors thesis on the philosophy of conservation biology and worked as a naturalist in Liberty State Park before joining the ENDY Program and Naithani Lab in 2020. She loves concerts (favorite being The Strokes on NYE 2019), snowboarding (favorite mountain is Wildcat in NH), photography (film and digital), and museums (favorites being the AMNH and the MOMA).

J. Eston Dunn

Distinguished Doctoral Fellow (2021 - Present) | Ph.D. Candidate (ENDY, 2024 - Present)

M.S. (STAN: Information Science, 2022 - Present)

Hailing from East Tennessee, Eston graduated from Brigham Young University - Hawai'i with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Math in 2020. With a passion and interest for Environmental Justice and Peace Ecology, Eston conducted his primary undergraduate research investigating the effects of Hawai'ian ecotourism. Before joining the Naithani lab in 2021, Eston spent a year on the Bering Sea working as a Fisheries Observer. When he's not playing the latest board game or collecting public land stamps around the country, he's helping his wife with her bakery and planning his next backpacking adventure. He loves storytelling, watching international cinema, and exploring.

Abaranjitha Muniyasamy

Ph.D. Student (Biology, 2023 - Present)

Abaranjitha is co-advised by Kusum Naithani and Neelendra Joshi and currently studying the role of land use in the gut microbiome of honeybee. Before joining biology doctoral program, she received M.Tech in Industrial Biotechnology from Sastra University, India. Beyond academia, Abaranjitha enjoys hiking, cooking Indian food, and learning Carnatic vocals.

Robert Dyer

Ph.D. Student (Biology, 2023 - Present) | Associate Director of Digital Strategy, UA

M.S. (Biology, 2020) | Western Kentucky University

Robert is a native Arkansan, hailing from a little town called Mountainburg. He graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies via the Honors College where his Honors thesis delt with the bioethics of invasive species management. He then attended the University of Arkansas for a couple years working on a Master’s degree prior to putting that on hold to join the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer. While active duty he belatedly obtained an M.S. in Biology from Western Kentucky University, where he continued previous work on the impacts of land use on ecological communities in streams (specifically meiofauna). Now out of the military and back home in Arkansas, he is a full-time staff member at the University working as the Associate Director of Digital Strategy in the University Relation department and currently working towards his Ph.D. in Biology. Outside of work and school, Robert spends time with his wife and four children, and tries his best to read the occasional book or play the occasional game when he can (luckily his family tends to be amenable to those pursuits as well).

Honey Gaur

Ph.D. Student (Biology, 2025 - Present)

Naithani Lab Affiliate

Harrison Smith

NIFA Fellow

Doctoral Academy Fellow (ENDY, 2021 - Present) | Ph.D. Candidate (ENDY, 2022 - Present)

Raised in Fayetteville, AR, Harrison earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Arkansas in 2016, with a focus on ecology and biodiversity conservation. In 2019, he completed an M.S. in Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, and in 2021 returned to the U of A to pursue a Ph.D. in Environmental Dynamics. Broadly, he is interested in issues at the intersection of climate change, sustainable agriculture, conservation ecology, and environmental justice. Outside of his academic work, Harrison also works on community initiatives with local non-profits to improve food security in the Northwest Arkansas area. He enjoys long bike rides, working in his home garden, and foraging for wild edibles.

Dr. Kapil Khadka

Graduate Research Assistant 2017

Current Position: Postdoc at FDA, NCTR, Jefferson, AR

Alumni

Chris Burkhart

M.S. (Biology, 2024) | Graduate Certificate (Geospatial Technologies, 2023)

Project: Monarch Mapping

Chris is a naturalized Arkansan, born in Memphis, and raised in the Twin Lakes. He began his bachelor’s in biology at Arkansas State University in 2011, before stepping away to then transfer to University of Arkansas to complete it. Chris graduated in Fall of 2019 with a B.S. in Biology. Chris joined the Naithani lab in 2022, working towards a M.S. in Biology and GIS Certificate. He is expressly passionate about plant ecology at multiple scales, conservation, and regularly volunteers with organizations to aid in plant surveying, GIS consulting, invasive removal, and as an educator. When he isn’t working on his academic pursuits, Chris can be found tabletop gaming, working to learn/ use some new artisanal skill or exploring the local natural areas and cuisine.

Ayanna St. Rose

Ph.D. (Biology, 2023) | M.S. (Biological Analytics, 2022)

Graduate Certificate (Sustainability, 2022)

Project: Rice, NEON | (YouTube Channel)

Ayanna was born in St. Lucia and grew up on the Nature Isle of the Caribbean, Dominica. She graduated with her Associates Degree in Biology and Physics in 2014. She then enrolled in the UofA in the Fall of 15, where she obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Biology in 2018. Before embarking on her PhD journey, she worked with the Plant Pathology department, investigating the inhibition of various plant pathogens. She enjoys dancing, socializing, hiking, and playing football (soccer :). She loves children and volunteers with the After-School Program at LifeSource weekly.

Yang Kai Tang

M.S. (BioAnalytics, 2023) | Project: Borneo

Yang Kai was born and raised in Malaysia. He graduated from U of A in 2020 with a BS in Environmental, Soil, and Water Science (ESWS). He likes to explore the mangrove forests whenever he visits his grandmother, who lives at the tip of Malaysia Peninsula (next to Singapore). He enjoys reading, cooking and eating spicy food, hiking, and playing video games.

Megan Reavis

Doctoral Academy Fellow, Ph.D. (Biology, 2021) | Graduate Certificate (Sustainability, 2020)

(M.S. Crop, Soil, & Environmental Science, 2017)

Megan was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. She graduated from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC with a BS in Animal Science. She worked for a short time at the USDA-ARS Plant Science Research Unit in Raleigh before moving to Fayetteville, AR for grad school. She earned her MS in Crop, Soil, & Environmental Science and PhD in Biological Sciences from the UofA. She loves hanging out in coffee shops with friends, exploring thrift stores, and, on a warm day, eating good food on a patio. She and her husband were married in 2016 and have adopted a 3 month old Pyrenees puppy named Percy, whom they adore.

Renee Sniegocki

M.S. (Biology, 2020) | Project: Borneo

As a native of Arkansas, Renee spent her childhood exploring the rivers and forests of the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains. She completed a bachelor's degree in Biology at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. During her summers in undergraduate and in the 7 years that followed, Renee worked as a seasonal Biological Science and Forestry Technician for the National Park Service at park units in Colorado, Tennessee, and Alaska. During her winters, she traveled to 13 countries in Central and South America and Southeast Asia. Renee graduated with a M.S. degree in Biology from the UofA. In her spare time she enjoys backpacking, mountain biking, canoeing, photography, cooking, gardening, and going on camper-van adventures with her husband.