Who we are

Camaraderie, passion, and dirt.

To study plants, you have to get your hands dirty. When you join the Leger Lab, you join a family of plant enthusiasts who are willing to work hard for the greater purpose of improving native plant restoration in the Great Basin. The lab forms a collaborative network, with partnerships that last well beyond graduation!

Group of lab members, including Elizabeth Leger and four graduate students, standing outdoors on a sunny day with trees, plants, and a building in the background, smiling at the camera.
More about our Research

Meet the PI

Elizabeth Leger, Ph.D.

Focusing on native plant restoration in the Great Basin, I design experiments to identify the most promising strategies for restoring natural systems affected by fire, invasive species, and chang​ing climate.

By studying local adaptation and selection in the wild, my lab has identified a suite of strategies that increase plant survival in invaded and disturbed systems, notable in that these strategies are diametrically opposed to the long-standing views of traits that should be prioritized during restoration of these cold desert systems. 

I am a foundation professor at the University of Nevada, Reno and the Director of the Museum of Natural History.

Download my CV
Elizabeth Leger, a woman with long, curly brown hair, smiling outdoors in a garden.

Current Lab Members

  • Alison Agneray, a woman with brown hair, smiling, wearing a brown Patagonia fleece jacket, in front of branches with red berries and green stems.

    Alison Agneray

    POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

    Alison has a love of Great Basin native plants, and her work includes mechanistic experiments, on-the-ground restoration, and native plant conservation. After studying seedling recruitment and community function for her PhD, Alison is currently working on common garden studies of native forbs to understand drivers of local adaptation, teaching UNR’s largest plant identification course, and heading a collaborative project outlining a genetic management plan for widespread species.

  • Taylor Bradford, a smiling woman with tattoos on her arms, wearing a beige tank top and a black shoulder strap, standing outdoors with mountains and a sunset in the background.

    Taylor Bradford

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

    Taylor is from California and took a circuitous route to Reno where she earned her M.S. in the Forister lab at UNR studying the Sand Mountain blue butterfly. After finishing that project, she made her way to the plant side and is now working on seed cleaning, testing, and common garden projects with Nevada's most beautiful plants.

  • Seamus Caslin, a smiling young man with curly hair wearing a gray t-shirt standing outdoors among yellow sunflowers with a metal greenhouse behind him on a sunny day.

    Seamus Caslin

    GRADUATE STUDENT

    Seamus graduated from Georgetown University in 2023, with a BS in environmental biology and government. He is interested in how plant populations can evolve in the face of changing climates, and comes to us after working as a contractor for the EPA, studying how to best use citizen science data. Seamus is currently knee-deep in shrub seedlings, trying to understand these foundational Great Basin plants.

  • Rosa Kirk-Davidoff, a smiling woman wearing a yellow safety helmet, a beige long-sleeve shirt, and a red and black hiking vest with gear, standing outdoors in a green, mountainous landscape with trees and rolling hills under a clear blue sky.

    Rosa Kirk-Davidoff

    RESEARCH ASSISTANT

    Rosa graduated from Williams College in 2021 and did conservation work around the country for two years before moving to Reno to work for the Forest Service as a research technician. She worked on various projects with the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) before deciding to make one her Master’s project. Rosa completed her MS work studying the post-fire regeneration of Jeffrey Pines in the Eastern Sierra, and is continuing to work in these systems in collaboration with US Forest Service and other agencies.

  • Cindy Murillo, a woman with shoulder-length dark hair smiling and holding a display case filled with various butterfly specimens, in a room with filing cabinets and lockers in the background.

    Cindy Flautero Murillo

    GRADUATE STUDENT

    Cindy was born and raised in the high Andes of Bogotá, Colombia. Her research interests focus on the morphology and taxonomy of moths, and she has worked with specialists from several countries. Over the past year, Cindy worked at the Museum of Natural History at UNR, applying her skills and knowledge to the curation of the insect collection. Co-advised with Lee Dyer, Cindy is a PhD student studying the role of moths as pollinators in high mountain ecosystems and tropical forests.

  • Spencer Hurt, a smiling young man with glasses, wearing a cap, a blue shirt, and a backpack, standing outdoors in a desert-like mountainous area with a clear blue sky in the background.

    Spencer Hurt

    GRADUATE STUDENT

    Spencer is passionate about plant ecology and restoration in dryland systems, and is working to improve our understanding of plant interactions and invasion in the Great Basin. With a background in physics and planetary science, Spencer aims to apply his quantitative skills to create on-the-ground positive changes for our local sagebrush steppe and foothill plant communities.

  • Alisa Kim, a woman with long dark hair, glasses, and a rainbow-themed shirt smiling while holding a small potted plant.

    Alisa Kim

    GRADUATE STUDENT

    Alisa has an extensive background in applied ecological restoration. She has an undergraduate degree from UC Davis and work experience with non-profits and regional conservation districts, focusing on ecological conservation and restoration. Alisa most recently worked with East Bay Regional Park District, before coming to Reno to work on native desert plants.

  • Leah Prescott, a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes smiling and looking at the camera, standing outdoors, wearing a white sleeveless shirt.

    Leah Lenzo

    GRADUATE STUDENT

    Originally from Rochester, New York, Leah studies native seed ecology and wins the prize for the most seeds weighed and x-rayed in the lab to-date (saying a lot). Leah was the Seeds of Success National Curator for the Bureau of Land Management from 2018-2020, where she managed a database of over 25,000 native seed collections that she is currently analyzing for her dissertation. Leah also serves as Treasurer for the International Network for Seed-based Restoration.

  • Genie Montblanc, a woman with long brown hair, glasses, and a teal shirt smiling outdoors with green foliage in the background.

    Génie MontBlanc

    SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

    Genie is all about science communication and collaboration! After two MS degrees at UNR (Biology and Resource Economics), Genie was part of the inaugural team of the Great Basin Fire Science Exchange, and she has been serving as a coordinator for that long-term project since 2009. Fun fact: Beth and Génie grew up about 7 miles from each other on the California coast, but didn’t meet until they both moved to Reno!

  • Cynthia Scholl, a woman with glasses smiling outdoors against a cloudy sky.

    Cynthia Scholl

    MUSEUM RESEARCHER

    A Reno native, Cynthia is the beating heart of the outreach program at the Museum of Natural History, where she welcomes every visitor and supervises many undergraduates working in the collections. Cynthia studied the ecology of Nevada butterflies for her MS degree (UNR, 2012), and she continues that work as part of her position at the Museum. Cynthia is also the co-founder and Associate Director of the non-profit Nevada Bugs & Butterflies, rounding out her love of the plants and animals of the Great Basin.

  • Stevie Steele, a woman with blue eyes smiling outdoors near a river, with a background of trees and mountains.

    Stevie Steele

    GRADUATE STUDENT

    Stevie earned her B.S. from West Virginia University in 2017. Since then, she has kept her hands dirty working in ecological restoration, rare plant conservation, and land management in Southern California. Co-advised by Beth and Lesley Morris, her current research focuses on fuel modeling of forage kochia, a non-native shrub used in post-wildfire restoration, and examining its competitive dynamics with native forbs.

  • Shannon Swim, a woman wearing sunglasses, a cap, and a blue shirt, smiling and holding a flower, in a desert landscape with dry shrubs and mountains in the distance.

    Shannon Swim

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

    Shannon has deep roots in the 89509, with Reno as her home base. Shannon’s love of plants began with native trees but gradually transitioned to the "small plants" that now occupy most of her time. Shannon served as the Sagebrush in Prisons Project Coordinator for Nevada and California, successfully growing hundreds of thousands of sagebrush plugs with incarcerated individuals. In addition to conducting research on native plants and seeds, Shannon created the UNR Seed Bank, which she now oversees. Let us know about your seed cleaning needs!

  • Arnold "Jerry" Tiehm, a amiling man wearing a white apron with red text that reads 'STAR BAKER' at an indoor event, with others and large windows in the background.

    Jerry Tiehm

    HERBARIUM CURATOR

    Star baker and star botanist, Jerry is The Man when it comes to Nevada’s plants. With two degrees from UNR, Jerry’s plant work has always been focused on Nevada, first a at the New York Botanical Garden and later as a volunteer in the University of Nevada, Reno herbarium. Jerry became curator of the herbarium in 2013 with the formation of the Museum of Natural History at UNR. He has made over 19,700 plant collections, mostly from Nevada, including 21 plants new to science and ~60 plants new to Nevada. Most recently, Jerry named the Elko buttercup, Ranunculus legerae, after our fearless leader. Read all about it!

  • Zoe Zingerman, a woman with long brown hair smiling outdoors in front of a garden with yellow flowers and a white barn-like building with a curved roof.

    Zoe Zingerman

    GRADUATE STUDENT

    Zoe arrived at UNR in Fall 2024 from Colorado, where she has been working on studies of seed longevity at the USDA-ARS, National Laboratory for Genetic Resource Preservation. Zoe is studying changes in seeds during the seed cleaning process, asking if seed handling for restoration reduces functional diversity.

Alumni & Ongoing Collaborators

  • Kevin Badik, a man wearing a beige cap, glasses, and outdoor clothing kneels and uses a tool to work in a dry, patchy field with small stakes, mountains in the background, and snow on the peaks.

    Kevin Badik

    PhD, 2014

    Ohio native, lover of fire, and excellent science communicator, for his PhD, Kevin studied fire impacts in Alaskan forests as well as pioneering work testing the evolution of flammability in fire adapted seeds and seedlings. Kevin is currently a the Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy in Nevada and Utah, working to direct science to protect and restore the Great Basin’s wild landscapes.

  • Sarah Barga, a person with glasses and dark hair smiling outdoors with mountains, trees, and a blue sky with clouds in the background.

    Sarah Barga

    PhD, 2017

    The most patient and thoughtful scientist, Sarah spent years staring at seeds in petri dishes, describing germination requirements and seed bank communities, and pioneering methods to model species distributions from herbarium collections. Sarah is currently a Research Botanist with the USDA Forest Service in Cedar City, UT, where she continues to study the nation’s most drought-adapted plants.

  • Tessa Bartz, a person wearing a blue cap, glasses, green hoodie, pink pants, and green rubber boots is using a sprayer in a large, open, tilled field with colorful markers. The sky is partly cloudy with mountains in the background.

    Tessa Bartz

    MS, 2022

    A transplant to the desert from the midwest, always ready to put in the long days in the name of science, in the heat and cold. Tessa studied local adaptation in Great Basin forbs, including use of the always fun “watering the desert” protocol, and is currently putting her skills to use as a Botanist with the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage.

  • Dash Hibbard, a man with glasses and a beard is crawling in a field of tall, dry grass, wearing a beige cap and gray clothing, with a hilly landscape and a blue sky in the background.

    Owen Baughman

    MS, 2014

    Raised in Nevada and a lifelong champion of the Great Basin’s natural and ecological wonder, Owen worked on the mysterious cheatgrass die-off phenomenon, asking if native seeds can establish in this brief window this die-off provides, and spent more time looking at teeny seedlings on his knees/stomach than any other student, past or present. Owen continued as Research Faculty at UNR, becoming the lab’s longest-running employee, and is the Restoration Program Manager at Salmon Valley Stewardship

  • Cody Ernst-Brock, a woman with long hair, sunglasses, and outdoor gear standing in a grassy field with trees and mountains in the background.

    Cody Ernst-Brock

    MS, 2018

    Originally from Alaska, Cody is our only graduate student who did their undergraduate degree at UNR. After working with the Nevada Department of Wildlife for many years, Cody tamed their giant dataset into a retrospective of plant change over time in the Great Basin, and also completed a long-term study on pinyon-juniper removal; currently co-owner and co-creator of Silver Sage Eco, a consulting company focusing on botanical work in remote locations.

  • Rosemary Frederick, standing on a hillside with a partly burned landscape, sparse trees, a red pickup truck, and snow-capped mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

    Rosemary Frederick

    MS, 2022

    Originally from Florida, Rosie was cheerful in the face of epic drought conditions during her MS degree. She studied maternal effects on seed and seedling traits in squirreltail grasses, and is currently a research specialist at the University of California, Berkeley and plans to continue in land management and restoration ecology in the Bay Area.

  • Dash Hibbard, a smiling man with a beard wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, a plaid shirt, and a gray t-shirt, taking a selfie outdoors near a cow skull mounted on a stand, with trees and modern building in the background.

    Dash Hibbard

    MS, 2015

    Dash conducted research on long-lived perennial plant evolutionary responses to nitrogen deposition in Joshua Tree National Park. This painstaking, hot, and challenging work fits Dash’s steadfast personality, and he now works as a Restoration Ecologist for the Walker Basin Conservancy, working to turn converted deserts back to native systems.

  • Sarah Kulpa with a group of people outdoors working with a large rangeland restoration drill seeding machine, in an open landscape with mountains in the background. Sarah Kulpa is smiling at the camera wearing a red and white knit hat and sunglasses.

    Sarah Kulpa

    MS, 2010

    Another of the lab’s OG graduate students, Sarah used her abundant organizational and critical thinking skills to document successes and failures of post-fire seedings on public lands, and in a classic experiment, documented strong selection during the restoration process. Sarah is the Restoration Ecologist and Botanist at the USFWS office in Reno, coordinates the Nevada Native Seed Partnership, and is currently on detail to the Bureau of Land Management.

  • Jamey McClinton, a woman in a green jacket is smiling and holding a small plant pot in a greenhouse. There are rows of other plant pots and seedlings behind her, with labels and labels' tags visible.

    Jamey McClinton

    MS, 2019

    Originally from Bishop, CA, Jamey worked on rare Eriogonum species in Nevada’s most beautiful deserts, studying soil preferences in endemic species, and taking the “watering the desert” method of restoration to the next level. She also utilized data from the NV Division of Natural Heritage to assess trends in threats to critically imperiled rare plants state-wide before joining the Division as their lead botanist. Jamey rocketed up the chain, and is currently the Administrator of the program, supervising 11 full-time employees.

  • Allison Phillips, a woman in outdoor clothing, holding a blue clipboard and smiling, standing in a desert landscape with rocky hills in the background.

    Allison Pfeifer

    MS, 2012

    The most intrepid root-washer, Allison did a project on root plasticity in native plants, asking if they changed their root strategies when in the presence of cheatgrass (they do!). Allison has been teaching for 17 years, and is currently a biology teacher at Archbishop Mitty High School; her degree gave her the competitive edge to land a prime teaching position in the Bay Area, where she teaches inquiry based courses, including AP Biology and AP Environmental Science.

  • Courtney Rowe, a woman wearing a park ranger uniform, cap, sunglasses, and backpack, sitting on the ground with plants and grass around her.

    Courtney Rowe

    MS, 2010

    One of the lab’s first two students, Courtney pioneered many of the root washing techniques we would go on to use for years; she conducted common garden studies to help describe squirreltail (our favorite restoration grass) traits related to cultivar seed source as well as cheatgrass invasion status. Since 2008, Courtney has worked for the U.S.Forest Service, focusing on the intersection of natural resource and wildland fire management. She is currently a member of the Inyo National Forest resource staff.

  • Laura Shriver, a woman with short curly brown hair, wearing round dark sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and a gray tie-dye hoodie, standing outdoors among tall trees and greenery, smiling while looking at a tall, red flowering plant.

    Laura Shriver

    MS, 2022

    Squeezing more into a MS degree than anyone could believe, Laura studied non-target herbicide effects on native annuals in an agricultural field and a natural site, and also measured evolutionary change during the seed storage process; currently coordinating the Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) at the USGS in Flagstaff, AZ

  • Cathy Silliman, a woman holding a small potted plant, standing outside near a metal wall with horizontal panels.

    Cathy Silliman

    MS, 2024

    Cathy moved to Reno after graduating from Cal Poly SLO in 2018. After studying sea turtles in Hawai’i, Cathy joined “team plant,” conducting Seeds of Success collections with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. She began working in the Leger Lab as a technician in 2020, and launched into her MS in 2022. Cathy is now working as an ecologist for the Great Basin Institute/BLM, focusing on restoration and conservation of Great Basin plants.

Our Values

Here's a glimpse into the culture that defines us:

Illustration of two flowers with elongated petals, central round disc, and visible roots, leaves, and stems. They are Ranunculus legerae, a plant named after lab PI Elizabeth Leger.

Supportive & Inclusive:

We believe that you can only do your best work in an environment when you are supported, healthy, and happy! We strive for that here, and welcome all kinds of people.

Dedicated & Resilient:

Working hard towards a broader goal is our style; we are not motivated by personal glory but by a common purpose, which is doing excellent applied science.

Forward-Thinking:

Why go small when you can go big? We push our experiments to the limits of our patience, and then we go a little further.

Outreach & Education

Explore our latest science communication projects

Collection of various colorful butterflies and moths displayed on a white background.

Museum of Natural History

A person wearing a hat and protective gear lighting a controlled fire on a dry field with a rocky hillside in the background under a clear blue sky.

Great Basin Fire Science Exchange Program

Two people jumping in the air on a hilltop with a mountain range in the background during sunset.

Join Our Team

Are plants your jam?

We’re always looking for ambitious, collaborative, and respectful students to join the lab. Contact us to learn about available opportunities!

About The Lab