Alissa J. Brown

Biology PhD candidate; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
 

For her PhD work, Alissa has been analyzing mapped forest plots to determine what factors are most important in predicting conspecific negative density dependence in temperate forests (i.e., the process where seeds, seedlings, and saplings are negatively influenced by high densities of conspecifics). For future work, Alissa would like to evaluate broad-scale patterns of biodiversity and how species interactions influence these patterns. When she’s not coding in R, Alissa is trying to take steps to reduce harmful power dynamics and harassment in research labs. With a group of graduate students and faculty, she has helped organize discussions and workshops about harassment with her home department and more widely (e.g., at ESA-Portland, 2017; find out more at https://academicstakingaction.wordpress.com/).

Alissa loves to crochet, knit, watch Star Trek, hang out with cats (and dogs), drink awesome beer, and play her newly acquired accordion.

Want to chat about research, academic culture, or mental health issues? Find her on Twitter: @AlissaJ_Brown