People
Dr. Eleinis Ávila-Lovera
Principal Investigator
Eleinis is a Biologist from Venezuela interested in the ecophysiology of plants from seasonally dry ecosystems and teh role of stem photosynthesis in drought tolerance. Eleinis obtained her Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology from the University of California, Riverside, and held two postdoc positions before joining the University of Utah as an Assistant Professor. See full CV here. Eleinis is also the co-founder and one of the coordinators of the Red Latinoamericana de Ecofisiología Vegetal (link).
Dr. Oranys Marín
Postdoctoral Researcher
Oranys is a Biologist with a Ph.D. in Botany Science from Venezuela, specializing in Plant Physiological Ecology. His research focuses on understanding plant responses to environmental stress conditions. He has investigated how factors such as elevated CO2, water deficit, temperature, and flooding influence plant growth and development. Specifically, he studies the physiological and metabolic regulation of stressed plants. Currently, Oranys is working with desert plants that have green/photosynthetic stems, studying how changes in non-structural carbohydrates contribute to promoting drought resistance in these plants. He is deeply passionate about fieldwork and cherish quality time with his family.
Osedipo Adegbeyeni
PhD student
Osedipo holds a BSc in Plant Science and Biotechnology from Federal University Oye Ekiti, Nigeria, and joined the lab as a PhD student in Fall 2024. His research involves water status regulation in plants with photosynthetic stems.
Vivian Gerstein
PhD student
Vivian graduated with a BS in Plant Sciences and a BA in Environmental Studies with a Conservation Science and Policy emphasis from UC Santa Cruz. She joined the lab as a PhD student in Fall 2025. She’s fascinated by plant physiological and morphological responses to water stress and is excited to learn more!
Alex Vandendries
PhD student
Alex received his B.A. in Biology from Reed College, where he studied the spatial and temporal variability of drought tolerance traits in mature conifers. He joined the lab as a Ph.D. student in Fall 2025 and is interested in investigating the mechanisms by which stem photosynthesis contributes to xylem safety during drought. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys exploring mountains and forests through a mix of climbing, running, and relaxing.
Bri Rinn
Undergraduate Student. Earth and Envrironmental Science & Environmental and Sustainability Studies
Bri joined the lab in Summer 2025 and her main project seeks to understand the phylogenetic effect on variation in stem photosynthetic traits in drought-tolerant plants.