PI - Jeremiah is an Assistant Professor in Biology at the University of South Alabama. A love of the outdoors and some amazing undergraduate advisors lead Jeremiah down a path to spend a lot of time thinking about species interactions in plant communities and how they shape patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem function. Jeremiah grew up in the midwestern US but escaped the brutal winters! When Jeremiah is not thinking about fungi living in plants, he is probably brewing beer, collecting insects, laying on a beach, or watching some sporting event!

​Ayana Cunningham is a senior Biology major from Huntsville, AL. When Ayana is not studying, she enjoys hanging out with friends, dancing, and photography. Ayana is interested in Biology STEM education is going to be working to grow the educational arm of our lab group. 

​Madison Smith is a Biology & International Studies major from Mobile. Madison is fluent in Korean and is head for a study abroad next school year! Madison is super into insects and is hopefully going to be doing some insect community work in some of our dune experiments!!! ​

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​My name is Logan Turner i was born in Texas but live in New Orleans. I'm passionate about volleyball and the environment. Specifically biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems. I'm currently majoring in biology with a concentration in environmental science. Logan is going to exploring the mycorrhizal fungi that are living in dune ecosystems around the gulf coast!

Jada Gildersleeve is a senior Biology major and Composite Science minor from Mobile, AL. Outside of science, Jada loves to bake and read. This semester, Jada will be exploring microbial communities living inside pitcher plants, with the hopes to develop pitcher plant communities to test basic questions about meta-communities and dispersal of microbial communities across pitchers.

William Sterrett is a Masters student in the Henning lab. William is originally from Saucier, MS but lives in Mobile for much of the year to attend USA and graduated with his B.S. in Biology from USA in December of 2019.  William has many recreational interests ranging from reading and tabletop gaming to hiking, camping, and various other outdoor activities.  These various outdoor activities led William to take an interest in wetlands and wetland science.  William is going to be exploring how wetland plants’ microbial associations affect their resistance to pathogens and hopes to become a professional wetland scientist.

Sydney Wilson was born and raised in Middletown, Delaware but moved to Fairhope, Alabama 2 years ago. Sydney is heavily in the arts and enjoys musical theatre, talent shows, and art contests. With the appreciation for art, it grew into an appreciation for the environment. Sydney has always had a fascination with botany from a young age and she hopes to pursue a career that brings all of her interest into play.