Kerri M Crawford

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Rice University


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EDUCATION

 Rice University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, PhD Student. Advisor: Jennifer Rudgers. Degree Expected: 2011.

University of Tennessee - Knoxville, BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2002. Honors, Summa cum Laude.
Honors Thesis: Causes and consequences of galling by the goldenrod bunch gall midge (Rhopalomyia solidaginis). Thesis Advisor: Nathan Sanders.


 RESEARCH GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, & AWARDS
Rice University Presidential Fellowship 2006 – 2010 ($105,332)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship 2006 (Honorable Mention)
Higher Education Research Experience at Oak Ridge National Laboratory 2005-2006 ($7,000)
Elected Phi Beta Kappa 2004


 PUBLICATIONS
Crawford, K.M., G.M. Crutsinger and N.J. Sanders. (in press) Genotypic diversity mediates the distribution of an ecosystem engineer. Ecology X: xxx-xxx.

Rudgers, J.A., K.M. Crawford, S.C. Wooley. (in prep) Microbial mediation of terrestrial food webs.


 ABSTRACTS
Crawford, K.M., G.M. Crutsinger, and N.J. Sanders. (2007) POSTER: Genotypic diversity mediates the distribution of an ecosystem engineer.
Gordon Conference on Plant-Herbivore Interactions. 18 February: Ventura, CA.

Crawford, K.M., G.M. Crutsinger and N.J. Sanders. (2005) The causes and consequences of galling by the goldenrod gall midge, Rhopalomyia solidaginis.
Southern Appalachian Conference on Arthropod Biology. 24 September: Ashville, NC.


 RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

 Rice University, Houston, TX

2006: The influence of genetic diversity on invasion success.
I am currently collaborating with Dr. Ken Whitney on an experiment that manipulates the amount of population-level genetic diversity in Arabidopsis thaliana to
determine if increased genetic diversity improves colonization success in new habitats.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge, TN

2006: Disentangling contributions to soil respiration.
As a research intern under Drs. Chris Schadt and Hector Castro-Gonzalez at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), I assisted with a tool-building ecosystem genomics
project that sought to disentangle the relative contribution of plants, fungi, and bacteria to soil respiration using transcribed DNA collected from soil samples.

2005: Ecosystem responses to climate change.
As a research intern, I helped address the ecosystem-level effects of climate change at ORNL with Drs. Aimee Classen and Richard Norby. Specifically, I assisted with a
project that monitored the interactive effects of climate change on above- and below-ground processes in an old field ecosystem.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

2006: Latitudinal gradient of herbivory and gall-formation on Solidago altissima.
I collaborated with Greg Crutsinger to develop and implement a study that examined variation in herbivory and gall-formation on Solidago altissima along a latitudinal
gradient from Florida to Maine.

2005: Genetic diversity mediates the distribution of an ecosystem engineer.
For my senior honors thesis, I developed a project that used both observation and experimental techniques to answer two interrelated questions: (i) Is the goldenrod bunch
gall midge (Rhopalomyia solidaginis) and ecosystem engineer? (ii) What factors influence the distribution of galls produced by the midge?

2005: Effects of genetic diversity on community diversity and productivity.
As a research assistant, I worked with Dr. Nathan Sanders and Greg Crutsinger. This project studied how the genetic identity and population-level genetic diversity of tall
goldenrod (Solidago altissima) influenced primary productivity and the species diversity of associated arthropod communities.

2002: Indirect genetic effects.

As a research assistant with Dr. Jason Wolf, I assisted with a project which explored how indirect genetic effects between genotypes of Brassica are phenotypically displayed.

TEACHING & MENTORING EXPERIENCE

 2007: Teaching Assistant, Insect Biology, Rice University

2006: SECME Program at ORNL
SECME is a pre-college program that prepares and motivates students, especially underrepresented students, to enter and complete post-secondary studies in science,
mathematics, engineering and technology. I helped one student develop her own project and present her results at an annual meeting.

2004-2006: University Honors Program Peer Mentor, University of Tennessee
Peer mentors assist first-year students in the University Honors Program in their transition to college by advising them on classes, extracurricular activities, and life-lessons.
I mentored 4 students over two academic years.


 PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

 Ecological Society of America