Dr. Jake Francis (principle investigator)
Jake is an Assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Florida Atlantic University. He is interested in how organisms traits shape their interactions with multiple ecological partners simultaneously.
If you could hear his thoughts they might sound something like: “I wonder how plant defenses that deter herbivores shape interactions with beneficial insects and microbes? I wonder whether microbes that are adapted for dispersal are better or worse competitors? Whats for dinner, are there snacks in my office? That’s a cool bike, do I need another bike?oooo a bee (it was actually a fly)!”
Before FAU, Jake was an NSF Postdoctoral Scholar in the department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of California Davis mentored by Rachel Vannette and Daniel Kliebenstein. He completed his doctoral degree in the Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology program at the University of Nevada, Reno in Dr. Anne Leonard‘s lab.
Lab Coordinator
Toni Jordan-Millet
Toni is the current lab coordinator of the Francis Lab. She became interested in community ecology while studying plant symbionts as an undergraduate at Rice University. She was a technician at the University of Florida in the Entomology and Nematology Department before joining the Francis lab. Her previous work entailed investigating the underlying mechanisms shaping the dynamics of herbivore communities. She has a general interest in multi-trophic interactions and a specific interest in plant-microbe interactions.
Graduate Students
Jessica Williams (Doctoral)
Jessica is currently pursuing her master’s degree at East Tennessee State University and will begin working in the Francis lab in Fall 2024. Her master’s thesis focuses on evaluating changes in prey capture and flowering phenology of Drosera rotundifolia across Southern Appalachia. Additionally, she has contributed to various projects investigating floral traits and pollinator rewards within a co-flowering community in the California serpentine seeps. Her research interests include plant-pollinator interactions, floral rewards, community ecology, and conservation biology.
David Grable (MS independent research)
David is pursuing his master’s degree while conducting independent research under the guidance of Dr. Jake Francis, focusing on calcium oxalate crystals in plant reproductive tissues. With a lifelong curiosity for science, David’s interests evolved toward ecology and the intricate interactions between organisms. He also holds a strong passion for entomology and enjoys exploring the outdoors, making fieldwork a particularly enjoyable part of his research experience. Whether investigating plant defenses or trekking through nature, David finds the ecological connections around him both inspiring and endlessly fascinating.
Opportunities
We are accepting applications for Masters students in the Environmental Science Program and Doctoral Students in Integrative Biology for fall of 2025.
Prospective Postdoctoral Scholars should reach out – I would love to sponsor fellowship applications, and there are various programs at FAU to support postdoctoral researchers.
Previous Mentees
KT (Kaytlin) Lynch – Kt was an undergraduate researcher at UC Davis. She assisted on various projects with Epilobium canum and in the Sierra’s studying how floral microbiome impacts pollination and seed set. She developed an independent line of research studying how microbes impact seed viability, and tested whether common floral bacteria have the potential to become seed endophytes. She went on to be a conservation intern at McGlaughlin Reserve, and is currently a restoration ecologist in Northern California.
Cheyenne Acevedo – Cheyenne was an undergraduate researcher at the University of Nevada Reno. She is a co-author on a manuscript in Current Biology where we tested the effects of plant chemical defenses in pollen on pollinator behavior. She went on to get a masters in environmental at the University of Nevada, and is a wildlife management and statistics guru. She currently works with Nevada Department of Wildlife as a Wildlife Biologist.