Portrait of Sasha Wright
[email protected]
Office Address

1987 Upper Buford Circle
Saint Paul, MN 55108
United States

Lab Address

United States

Sasha Wright

Associate Professor
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Lab Website
Research Publications

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Research statement

My lab focuses on the role that biodiversity plays in different ecosystems. Does biodiversity help buffer against some of the most negative effects of climate change? Why are higher diversity communities more resilient to drought?

I focus on the facilitative interactions between neighboring plant species that may improve plant community performance. For example, some drought resistant plant species may be capable of photosynthesizing even on very hot and dry days. Other species may experience water stress and turn off their photosynthetic apparatus. When plants are photosynthesizing they lose water, and this cools the air around them, due to evaporative cooling. This can improve the microclimate conditions of their neighbors. Higher diversity plant communities may harbor more strategies for dealing with environmental stress. In some cases, the plants that possess these strategies may physically alter the environment in such a way that makes local microclimate conditions hospitable for neighboring individuals and improves overall plant community performance.

Education and background

Previous positions

  • 2023-2024 Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles
  • 2017-2023 Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles
  • 2015-2017 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Science & Mathematics, FIT (SUNY).
  • 2014-2015 Visiting Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biology, Bard College.
  • 2013-2014 Postdoctoral Research Associate, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). Leipzig, Germany.
  • 2013 Visiting Professor, Sarah Lawrence College, NY.

 

Education

  • Ph.D. 2013. Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
  • B.A. 2005. Department of Biology, Beloit College, Beloit, WI


Grants and awards

  • 2024 NSF LTER Supplement grant ($25,000)
  • 2023 NSF LTER Supplement grant ($35,000)
  • 2022 NSF CAREER grant (PI, $976,464)
  • 2022 Swiss National Science Foundation (co-PI $25,000)
  • 2021 CSULA Student Research & Scholarship Fund ($21,000)
  • 2020 USDA Hispanic Serving Institutions Grant (co-PI, $275,000)
  • 2020 CSUPERB New Investigator Award ($15,000)
  • 2010-2013 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship: ($90,000)