Dr. Grace Wilkinson
Principal Investigator
Curriculum Vitae
Grace is a limnologist and ecosystem ecologist who focuses on aquatic-terrestrial linkages. Her research interests are at the intersection of biogeochemistry, water quality and ecosystem resilience.  

She finished her PhD from the University of Virginia Department of Environmental Sciences in 2015 and remained at UVA as a postdoctoral researcher until December 2016. Grace was at Iowa State University as an Assistant Professor from 2017-2020. In January 2021 she moved to the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.  

Ellen Albright
PhD Student

Ellen’s research focuses on spatiotemporal variation in the biogeochemical cycles of shallow lakes and reservoirs as well as how this heterogeneity impacts ecosystem function. She is especially interested in phosphorus cycling, lakebed sediments, and aquatic plant communities. Her work has been funded by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the Iowa DNR, and the Iowa Water Center.

Ellen received her BA in Biology and Geography from Macalester College in May of 2017. Throughout her undergraduate career, she participated in a variety of summer research projects for the North Temperate Lakes LTER program. This work inspired her interest in freshwater research and stewardship. Read more about Ellen's research here.

Jess Briggs
PhD Student

Jess’s research interests focus on water quality and the nexus between biological, chemical, and physical processes in aquatic systems. She is also interested in the interactions between aquatic ecosystems and their surrounding communities, particularly in exploring anthropogenic effects on ecosystem function.  

Jess received her BS in Environmental Resource Management from Penn State University in May 2021. As an undergraduate, she worked in Jon Duncan’s Watershed Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry lab investigating stream metabolism.

Tyler Butts
PhD Student

Tyler's research interests lie at the interaction of lake food webs and ecosystem resilience to pulse disturbances. He is pursuing his PhD research with funding from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Iowa DNR.

Check out a recent publication from Tyler's undergraduate research, in press at the Journal of Freshwater Ecology

Helen Schlimm
Research Specialist

Helen assists in the regular operation and research endeavors of the Wilkinson Lab. Her work combines her interests in limnological study and inclusive community science. She received her BS in Environmental Science from Dickinson College in May of 2017.

Danny Szydlowski
PhD Student

Danny’s research focuses on the drivers of environmental change in lakes, including local factors such as invasive species and regional factors such as climate change. He is especially excited when he gets to work with long-term datasets.
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Danny received his BS in Environmental Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, where he also worked for several years in the aquatic ecology lab of Dr. Stuart Jones. Inspired by his undergraduate research, Danny went on to complete a MS in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences with Dr. Eric Larson at the University of Illinois, where he investigated the long-term effects of invasive rusty crayfish.

Former Lab Members

 Dr. Eric Moody
Former Postdoctoral Researcher (2017-2019)
Currently Assistant Professor at Middlebury College

Dr. Hannah Carroll
Former Postdoctoral Researcher (2020)
Currently Postdoctoral Scholar at UCLA 
During his time in the lab, Eric examined interactions between grazers and harmful algal blooms  with funding from a USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship and worked to understand how the evolution of consumers can alter nutrient fluxes in aquatic ecosystems. Learn more about Eric's research here.
Hannah is a quaternary paleoecologist with a background in aquatic sciences. She worked with the lab during the summer of 2020 modeling the spatiotemporal dynamics of cyanobacteria in response to environmental conditions. Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA in the department of Earth Planetary and Space Sciences. Learn more about her researcher here. 

David Ortiz
Former MS Student (2017-2019)
Currently PhD Student at UW-Madison CFL

Quin Shingai
Former MS Student (2018-2021)
Currently PhD Student at Dartmouth
David's research focused on statistical early warning indicators of harmful algal blooms in lakes. Additionally, he is interested in the spatial heterogeneity of algal blooms in shallow lakes. Learn more about David's research here. 
 Quin's research interests focus on the intersection of environmental and human health. She is pursuing research on cyanotoxin and nutrient cycling with funding from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Quin received her BS in Biology from Iowa State University in December 2018 and her MS in Environmental Science in 2021. 

Former Research Specialists

Rachel Fleck (2017-2020), Iowa State University - Rachel oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Wilkinson Lab while it was at Iowa State University.  Rachel is currently a Research Scientist II at Iowa State, continuing to run the Ambient Lake Monitoring Program after Grace's departure. 

Elena Sandry (2018-2020), Iowa State University - Elena oversaw the US Army Corps-funded Des Moines River Water Quality Monitoring Network and helped run the Wilkinson Lab. She is currently a Research Scientist I at Iowa State, continuing to run the Army Corps project.

Katie Cope (2019-2020), Iowa State University - Katie oversaw field operations and the plankton program (zooplankton and phytoplankton) for the Wilkinson Lab. She is currently a Research Scientist I at Iowa State, continuing to oversee the day-to-day field and lab operations of the Ambient Lake Monitoring Program. 

Hayley Grigel (2017-2018), Iowa State University - Hayley oversaw the plankton lab operations for the DNR Ambient Lake Monitoring Program. She played a critical role in developing the protocols used for the program and training staff in phytoplankton identification. 

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS

Logan Marion (2021): Field and Laboratory Technician
Kayla Wernsing (2019-2020): Geology Honors Undergraduate Research
Julia Schneller (2019-2020): Laboratory technician
Michael Tarnow (2020): Field and laboratory technician
​Matthew Kremer (2020): Laboratory technician
Lauren Dams (2020): Laboratory technician
Lucas Krakow (2017, 2020): Field technician
Matthan Kots (2020): Field technician
Shania Walker (2018-2019): Ambient Lake Monitoring Field Supervisor
Adriana Le Compte (2019): Army Corps Field and Laboratory Technician
Kala Rogers (2019): Field technician
Psalm Amos (2019): Lab Technician
Riley Barbour (2018-2019): Field and Lab Technician
Brittany Howes (2019): Lab Technician
Jenna Rasmusson (2019): Field and Lab Technician
​Kari Fiebelkorn (2019): Lab Technician
Halle Rosenboom (2018-2019): Field Technician
Kathryn Holmes (2018): Undergraduate research credits
Katie Hoeppner (2018): Undergraduate research credits
James Thompson (2017, 2019): Field Technician
Emma Califf (2017-2019): Lab Technician
Ashley Heins (2018): Field and Lab Technician
​Lucas Krakow (2017): Field Technician
Katie Luzier (2017): Lab Technician
Sara Meyer (2017): Field and Lab Technician
Rylie Nylin (2018): Field Technician
Ryan Wagner (2018): Field Technician
Olivia Parks (2018): Field & Laboratory Technician
Casey McConnell (2018): Laboratory Technician
Christalyn Thjorne (2018): Army Corps Field and Laboratory Technician
Samuel Stearns (2017): Ambient Lake Monitoring Field Supervisor
Anna Zmich (2017-2018): Lab Technician
Jean-Luc Del Valle (2017): Undergraduate research credits