People

Cahill Lab, March 2021.

James F. Cahill (JC)

Professor

JC has been in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta since 1999. His research interests are broad, as evidenced by his publication record. Constant themes include conceptually grounded experimental tests of fundamental questions in ecology and conservation biology, root ecology, plant behavioural ecology, and community assembly and function.

Dr. Rashaduz Zaman

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Rashaduz Zaman is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta. Dr. Zaman received his Ph.D. (2024) degree in Forest biology and management from the department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, MSc in Molecular Life Science (2019) from University of Jena, and B.Pharm. (2015) from International Islamic University Chittagong. He worked as a Research Scientist (2020) in Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany. Dr. Zaman’s research interests include Chemical Ecology, Entomology, Forest Health, Climate Change, Microbial Ecology, Multi-tropic plant-insect-microbe interactions and behaviour.

Dr. Tanya Shoot

Postdoctoral Researcher

Tanya is a postdoctoral researcher on the Plant Cognition project, where, along with the rest of the team, is putting forward a foundational framework for the study of how plants solve problems, with respect to their ecology.  Combining psychological principles, with the burgeoning field of plant behaviour is the type of interdisciplinary question that is the focus of Tanya’s research past and present. Throughout their academic career, they have investigated how individual differences affect social behaviour from fruit flies, fish, and birds to theoretical models of these species.

If they are not at their laptop, or caring for animals and plants, they can be found climbing, cycling or running.

Emily Holden

Ph.D. Candidate

Emily has always loved being outside and asking questions about nature. These qualities combined with her love for the prairies made plant ecology a logical fit! Emily studies how plant social networks and resource gradients affect coexistence, and how plant functional traits can be used as a tool to learn about community assembly processes. She uses both field- and greenhouse experiments to address her research questions. 

Isaac Peetoom Heida

Ph.D. Student

Isaac loves food and grasslands. His research interests are at the intersection of conservation and agriculture, focusing on how to improve the function of plant-soil interactions in agricultural areas. He is part of the CAT-G project, which is aiming to test how cattle grazing regimes affect climate metrics, biodiversity, and ranch profitability. Within this project, Isaac is focusing on the soil microbial processes that are related to forage production and greenhouse gas flux.

Rebecca Innes

MSc Student

Rebecca is studying the effects of the soil microbiome on plant communities. She is broadly interested in how organisms interact with each other in ecosystems. She completed her BSc at the University of Calgary, where she worked on research projects focusing on insect distributions in crop fields. She enjoys working in the field, both with previous projects and in her current work. 

Heather Anderson

M.Sc. Student

Heather is a master’s student working on the CAT-G project studying the impacts of cattle grazing on plant and insect communities in the Albertan grassland region. Throughout her undergraduate studies she was particularly interested in studying plants and insects. This led to her exploring plant behavior in her thesis and engaging in hands-on research with honey bees during the summer months.

Brody Nagtegaal

M.Sc. Student

Brody is a Master’s student working on the Plant Cognition project, a project perfect for his curiosity towards plant behaviour and his experience in horticulture. He spends his free time working in environmental consulting, where he’s found great joy identifying plants while waist-deep in wetlands.

Haley Lacza

Undergraduate Student

Haley is an undergraduate student studying biology and Japanese language. Broadly, she is interested in seeds, while her current research focuses on the mechanisms behind plant invasions.

Majid Iravani

Research Manager – CAT-G Project

Majid has long been passionate about the ecology of grassland systems, from the rolling prairies of Canada to the vast grasslands of Asia. His fascination with these ecosystems has shaped his research interests in sustainable agriculture and conservation. With extensive experience in applied research,
Majid excels at leading large-scale, collaborative, and complex projects. As the Research Manager of the CAT-G project—focused on climate-smart grassland management practices—his dedication to applied research fuels his commitment to protecting and strengthening the resilience of these ecosystems for
future generations.

Previous Members

Post-docs & Visiting Scientists

Graduate Students

  • Habba Mahall (MSc)
  • Karina Salimbayeva (MSc)
  • Megan Ljubotina (MSc)
  • Pamela Belter (MSc)
  • Paul Cigan (MSc)
  • Michael Clark (MSc)
  • Bryon Shore (MSc)
  • Matthew Mitchell (MSc)
  • Malcolm Coupe (MSc)
  • Melissa Brown (MSc)

Undergraduate Students

  • Heather Anderson (BIOL499)
  • Sam Sech (BIOL499)
  • Stasha Lysyk (Biol 499)
  • Rachelle Lugar (Biol 399)
  • Heather Anderson (Biol 398)
  • Elly Smith (Biol 399)
  • Kenneth Oppon (BIOL499)
  • Brody Nagtegaal (BIOL499)
  • Theodore Blenkinsopp (BIOL499)
  • Habba Mahal (BIOL499)
  • Gail Classens (BIOL 499)
  • Emily Holden (BIOL 498)
  • Tianna Barber-Cross (BIOL299, NSERC USRA)
  • Isaac Peetoom Heida (NSERC USRA)
  • Nick Brown
  • Jacey Bronson
  • Shelby Stenerson
  • Megan Ljubotina (URI, BIOL499)
  • Kelsie Hardman
  • Alec Carrigy (NSERC USRA, BIOL399,498,499)
  • Valerie Marshall (URI, BIOL499)
  • Sydney Wild
  • Kaeleigh Stinnissen (BIOL498)
  • Logan Fairgreave-Park
  • Nabeel Khan (BIOL399, BIOL498)
  • Morgan Randall (BIOL498, BIOL499)
  • Katharine Melnik (BIOL499)
  • Glenn Gensler (BIOL498)
  • Alex Sywenky (BIOL399, BIOL499)
  • Rebecca Koehn (BIOL299)
  • Amelie Roberto-Charron (BIOL499)
  • Evelyn Jensen (BIOL498)
  • Emily Gould (NSERC USRA)
  • Kristen Peck
  • Gwen Roy (BIOL498)
  • Naomi Maffrey (NSERC USRA)
  • John Taggert
  • Tara Steigletz (NSERC USRA)
  • Gerald Singh (NSERC USRA)
  • Agnieszka Kotowska (NSERC USRA)
  • Amanda Doyle (NSERC USRA)
  • Chakanaka Zinyemba
  • Dao Phan
  • Qiting Chen
  • Christina Colenutt
  • Melanie Patchell
  • Tianna Magis
  • Monica Kohler
  • Glen Smith (NSERC USRA)
  • Eliza Duestch (NSERC USRA)
  • Jocelyn Stacey (NSERC USRA)
  • Nadeesha Fernando (NSERC USRA)
  • Josh Haag (NSERC USRA)