Education

University of Oregon Expected 2025
Ph.D. Biology

State University of New York at Cortland 2020
B.Sc. Conservation Biology (3.70)
SUNY Cortland Honors Program
President’s Designation in Undergraduate Research
Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Beta Beta

Research

See the research projects page of my personal website for a complete list of my active research projects.

Grants/Awards

ESA SEEDS Alumni Travel Award Summer 22’
Barry Goldwater Scholarship Spring 19’
Ecological Society of America SPUR Fellowship Summer 19’
Botany 2019 Ecological Section Poster Award Summer 19’
New York State Flora Association Research Grant Summer 18’
SUNY Cortland Outstanding Student Research in Biological Sciences Award Spring 19’
SUNY Cortland Aldo Leopold Award Spring 19’
SUNY Cortland Undergraduate Research Fellowship Summer 18’

Publications

Collings, J.A., Cook, E.J., Delevich, C.A., & Diez, J.M. (2024). Soil mycobiome dissimilarity,independent of fungal guild,is associated with increased probability of plant coexistence. Journal of Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14396

Diez, J., Schlauch, J., DuCharme, E., Collings, J., & Erskine, S. (2024) Germination phenology alters species coexistence outcomes. Journal of Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14382

Collings, J., Endriss, S. B., & Dávalos, A. (2023). Multiple stressors prevent gains in native plant diversity following invasive species removal. Ecosphere, 14(3), e4458.

Collings, J.A., Shoemaker, L.G., & Diez, J. M. Environmental context alters plant-soil feedback effects on plant coexistence. (2024) Manuscript in Review at Ecology

Wolfe, J.D., Luther, D.A., Jirinec, V., Collings, J., Johnson, E.I., Bierregaard Jr, R.O., & Stouffer P.C. Climate change aggravates bird mortality in pristine tropical forests. (2024). Manuscript in Review at Science Advances

Invited Lectures

Leveraging Coexistence Theory to Study Ongoing Questions in Plant-Microbial Ecology 2024
Seminar for UC Irvine’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department
Irvine, California

Conference Presentations

Oral Presentations at Ecological Society of America (2020-2024).

Poster Presentations at Botany (2019-2020), and North American Council for Conservation Biology (2018).

Co-author on seven student and colleague presentations.

Teaching

Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Oregon

BI471/571 Population Ecology Winter 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2024
Developed and led students through Rmarkdown files to teach various topics in population modeling. Worked with students through independent modeling projects. Graded lab handouts and presentations for independent projects. Hosted weekly office hours.

BI213 General Biology III: Populations Fall 2021 and Spring 2022
Led students through hands-on activities to reinforce course content in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Graded student lab reports, written assignments, and exams. Hosted weekly office hours.

Undergraduate and Post-Bach Teaching Experience

TA for Statistical Methods Spring 2021
Responded to student questions about course content and academic success during and outside of online lectures. Held review session before exams to work through practice problems and review course content.

TA for Plant Ecology Fall 2019
Worked with students to execute research projects in community ecology,competion, herbivory, and belowground interactions. Moderated debates and led classroom discussions.

Supplemental Instruction Leader for Introductory Biology Courses Spring 2018 - Spring 2020
Held multiple review sessions weekly as well as office hours throughout the semester for major and nonmajor sections of introductory biology.

Service and Outreach

Non-Peer Reviewed Publications

Uncovering the Importance of Microbes in Rapidly Changing Plant Communities 2023   Article written for the University of Oregon Biology Department’s newsletter

A queer stroll through the meadow 2022
Blog post published by the American Society of Plant Biologists’s Plantae Blog

Waiting for greener days 2020
Blog post published by Plant Love Stories

Professional Presentations

Research and Grad School Q & A 2022
Guest Speaker for LSAMP STEM Seminar at SUNY Cortland

Student Research in Ecology and Evolution 2021 and 2022
Panel for Syracuse University Department of Biology

Benefits to Research 2021
Panel for the Ecological Society of America’s Student Services Program

Students Perspective about Diversity in Skills Development for Fieldwork 2021
Panel for the Ecological Society of America’s Student Section

Asian Worm Seminar 2020
Talk given for Monroe County Master Gardeners and Monroe County public  

Plants: Friends or Foe 2018
Talk given at Lime Hollow Nature Center for the McLean Beautification Committee