![](/sites/cbs.umn.edu/files/migrated-files/images/contacts/jhuggins.jpg)
Background
Julia worked with Peter Kennedy as an undergraduate at Lewis & Clark College, where she wrote her senior thesis on the tri-partite symbiosis between Alnus (Alder) trees, ECM fungi, and Frankia bacteria. Julia rejoined the research team as a lab technician in Minneapolis from fall 2014 to winter 2015. She is primarily interested in understanding the chemical mechanisms behind ecological interactions and nutrient cycling.