Image of the members of the Plants & H2O lab in 2011
Plants & H2O Lab members in 2013.

Current lab members


Graduate Students


Undergraduate Students

  • Tatiana Melendres: Effects of surfactants on bubble formation in water under negative pressure
  • Joleen Bondoc: The role of fructans in xylem osmoregulation
  • Gerardo Roldan: Effects of planting density on water use in avocado orchards
  • Jessica Garcia: Lipids in xylem sap

Some former Lab Members

  • Susana Espino (M.S. 2008)  Research Scientist & Lab Manager from 2005 to 2017. Now Microbiology and Biotechnology Lab Coordinator at Santiago Canyon College. 
  • Donald Quick (M.S. 2016): Mater's Thesis: Continuous measures of water status in deeply-rooted southern California chaparral shrub species. Now high school science teacher at Rosemead High School (El Monte Union High School District, California).
  • Aissa Do: Hydrophobic proteins in xylem sap
  • Mellanda Orn: Xylem embolism repair in Eriogonum fasciculatum.
  • Neda Nima: Surfactant proteins in xylem sap
  • Sarah Taylor-Laine (B.S. 2012, M.S. 2015): Master's Thesis: Diurnal and seasonal variation in non-structural carbohydrates in the chaparral shrub Malosma laurina.
  • Emily Wieber (SCERP Scholar; B.S. 2012, M.S. 2016):  Master's Thesis: Effects of regulated deficit irrigation on fruit yield, quality, and physiology of Washington Navel orange trees. Now at the US Department of Agriculture in Memphis, TN.
  • Elizabeth Hessom (SCERP Scholar; B.S. 2010, M.S. UC Riverside 2012).  Senior thesis: Xylem embolism repair in two chaparral shrubs, Malosma laurina and Ceanothus crassifolius. Now Associate Environmental Planner at the California Department of Conservation.
  • Daisha Ortega (SCERP Scholar; B.S. 2010): Senior thesis: Comparing plant water relations and hydraulics between two halophytic Mojave Desert shrub species. Now a medical student at the Ohio State University School of Medicine.
  • Alejandra Mendez.  Research: Role of wood fiber cells in drought resistance of Southern California shrub species.
  • Lauren Velasco (SCERP Scholar; B.S. 2009): Ph.D. program in Botany & Plant Science at UC Riverside.  Research:  Comparison of drought tolerance in two Salvia species.
  • Nicole Vearrier (M.S. Biology 2006)   Master's Thesis: Ecology and potential invasiveness of Suaeda linifolia in the Great Basin Desert, USA
  • Andrea Vona (M.S. Environmental Studies 2006)
  • Joy Polston-Barnes (M.S. Environmental Studies 2006)
  • Christine Goedhart (SCERP Scholar; B.S. 2005.  Senior thesis: Does water-availability affect pathways of water transport in the shrub Eriogonum fasciculatum?):  Ph.D. 2010, UC Riverside. Now tenure-track faculty member at Citrus College.

Current collaborators
Past collaborators