Robert Bagchi
Robi is a community ecologist with a particular interest in tropical plants. He also dabbles in investigating the influence of environmental change on species distributions and the effects of plant diversity on ecosystem function. He uses a combination of field experiments and quantitative analyses to address questions like why there are so many species of trees in tropical forests and how human activities are likely to reduce species diversity.
He did his PhD at the University of Sheffield in the UK before doing post-docs in Zurich, Oxford and Durham. Before moving to UConn he was a Senior Scientist at the ETH, Zurich.
Claire Marino (PhD Candidate)
Claire joined the lab as a PhD student in 2023 after graduating with a B.A. in Biology from Bucknell University, where she worked on species
delimitations and descriptions of Australian Solanum species. Claire currently uses Symplocarpus foetidus (eastern skunk cabbage) as a native Connecticut research system to understand reproductive strategies, temperate understory ecophysiology, and phenology shifts. Outside of the lab, field, and classroom, she enjoys baking and reading fiction.
Laurel Schmidt (PhD Student)
Laurel joined the lab as a PhD student in 2025. Her dissertation is focused on understanding the role of environmental gradients in driving plant-fungal interactions in Panamá. She is interested in analyzing how fungal pathogens and mutualists jointly impact tree seedlings and therefore drive tropical forest dynamics. Before joining the lab, she worked at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, USDA, and UC Davis, primarily focused on plant pathology in agricultural systems, and graduated from UC Davis in 2023 with a B.S. in EEB. Outside of the lab, she loves to hike, camp, crochet, and observe fungi in their natural habitat.
Molly Landon (PhD Student)
Molly joined the lab as a PhD student in 2026. Prior to moving to the east coast, she graduated from San Diego State University in 2026 with a M.S. in Ecology. Molly’s research at SDSU in Dr. David Lipson’s lab focused on the impact of Hirschfeldia incana (shortpod mustard) on soil microbial communities and native grass assemblages in Southern California. Prior to obtaining her M.S., she graduated from Whittier College in 2023 with a B.A. in Environmental Science, and worked with her advisor, Dr. Cinzia Fissore, to better understand how coffee agroecosystems are shaping soil enzymatic activity in Southern California. Currently at UConn, she is working with Dr. Robi Bagchi and Dr. Miranda Davis to investigate how invasive plants are impacting ecosystem functioning in New England. Molly is also interested in exploring novel restoration methods to restore soil and plant communities in invaded areas. When Molly is not battling invasive plants, she is either hiking, camping, or knitting.