Ricardo M. Holdo
Professor
Email: rholdo@uga.edu
Office: Ecology 188B
Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kvs9iOMAAAAJ&hl=en
Maya Gonzalez
M.S. student
Email: Maya.Gonzalez@uga.edu
Maya is a master’s student from Tampa, Florida. She is working on the hydraulic mechanisms underpinning early, pre-rain leaf-out in trees across southern Africa, using satellite imagery to observe large scale patterns in plant phenology and rainfall cycles. She earned her B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida in 2023, where her research focused on the response of shrub cover to multi-decadal weather conditions and the presence of grazing at various spatial scales in the desert Southwest. Before joining the lab in the fall of 2024, she gained field work experience sampling small mammals and grassland birds. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, birdwatching, and learning new cooking recipes.
Virginia Griswold
M.S. student
Email: vgriswold@uga.edu
Virginia is a Master’s student researching plant-soil feedbacks of Ericaceae, with focal points on succession and plant function in forest ecosystems of the Southern Appalachians. Her research interests center on plant and seed ecophysiology and interactions with mycorrhizal fungi. Prior to UGA, she completed her BA in Biological Sciences from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she researched mycorrhizal mutualisms of Ericaceae and their implications for Rhododendron conservation. In her free time, Virginia likes to swim, walk with friends or family, and practice botanical illustration.
Sienna Slater
M.S. student(non-thesis)
Email: Sienna.Slater@uga.edu
Sienna joined the lab in the fall of 2023 as an undergraduate researcher. As of the
fall of 2025, she is a master’s student, continuing research she began as an undergraduate on tree-grass deep water transport in savanna ecosystems as a Double Dawgs student. She is also an intern with a non-profit in Athens, where she merges her passion for ecology with community engagement by collaborating with local farms to provide food to those experiencing food insecurity. In her free time, I enjoy spending time with friends or family, traveling, and trying new foods!
Lab Alumni
Jason Donaldson (Postdoctoral associate, research scientist)
Basil Senso (M.S. student)
Michael Belovitch (Ph.D. student)
Isabel Wargowsky (M.S. student)
Phoebe Judge (M.S. student)
Cece Working (M.S. student)
Niki Gajjar (B.S. student, undergraduate research assistant)
Jules NeSmith, Lab Manager and Research Assistant
Annabelle Barr (undergraduate research assistant)
Juliet Eden (B.A. Student, undergraduate research volunteer)
Laura Lenz (B.A. Student, undergraduate research volunteer)
Brooke Amerson (undergraduate research volunteer)
Kathryn King (undergraduate research volunteer)
Lucia Sol Mochi (Visiting Ph.D. Student and Fullbright Scholar, University of Buenos Aires)