Principal Investigator

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Ryan W. McEwan, PhD

Professor

Environmental Biology Program Coordinator

Department of Biology
The University of Dayton
300 College Park, Dayton, OH  45469-2320

Office phone: 1.937.229.2558
Email:  ryan.mcewan@udayton.edu

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 Graduate Students

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Michaela Woods (BS, MS), PhD Student

Michaela Woods completed her BS in Biological Sciences at Wright State University in 2016 and her MS in Biological Sciences (December 2018) also at Wright State University.  During her MS Michaela focused on soil ecology in relationship to Amur honeysuckle invasion in Dr. Megan Rua’s lab.  As a PhD student in the McEwan Lab Michaela is aiming to investigate the interconnections between soil biology, plant invasion and ecological restoration in Midwestern Forests.  She is particularly interested in collaboration with the Five Rivers Metroparks which manages 16,000+ acres of natural areas in the Dayton Area.

Michaela’s Publications:  LINK

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Grace Attea – MS Student

Grace completed her degree in Environmental Biology here at the University of Dayton in 2019 and also worked in the McEwanlab as a postbac researcher.  She made a triumphant return to the lab in the summer of 2021 and is pursuing a thesis focused on ecological restoration in the Miami Valley.  

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Peter Butterfield – MS Student

Peter is a student enrolled in the Bachelor’s plus Master’s Program in the Department of Biology.  This means that Peter is finishing up his degree in Environmental Biology (BS) while also launching a research based Master’s project. Peter has been involved in numerous projects in this lab and his MS research focuses on long-term oak forest dynamics in relationship to disturbance processes including wildfire.  

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Undergraduate Project Leaders

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Olivia Clark

Olivia is an Undergraduate Project Leader in the lab who is an Honors Student.  Her Thesis research has to do with the dispersal of Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) which is a problematic invasive tree in the region. Olivia is also the  winner of the 2021 Keck Environmental Biology Fellowship in the Department of Biology at UD. 

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