ROOT LAB
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Current Lab

Aubrie Bogle
Research Aide
ResearchGate


Marvin Lo
Root Lab Program Manager
Master's Student @ UIC
Google Scholar : ResearchGate

M. Luke McCormack
Root Lab Principal Investigator
Research Adjunct Professor @ UIC
Google Scholar : ResearchGate : ​CV

Ryo Nakahata
Lab Affiliate
Assisstant Professor @UofTokyo
​Google Scholar : ResearchGate

Nicholas Medina
Postdoctoral Scholar
Google Scholar : ResearchGate

Teddy Nikitin
Research Assistant
Google Scholar : ResearchGate

Kelsey Patrick
PhD Student @ UIC
ResearchGate : Personal Site

Carla Rosenfeld
Lab affiliate
Google Scholar
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Summer 2025. From Left to Right: Aubrie Bogle, Kelsey Patrick, Teddy Nikitin (upper), Yoara Nadal García (lower), Marvin Lo, Penny Yost (upper), Nicholas Medina (lower), Luke McCormack.
Gary Watson
Root Lab Principal Investigator, Emeritus

Lab Volunteers

We are very lucky to have an outstanding group of volunteers that support our work and help make what we do possible. If you are interested in joining our team, reach out to Luke (lmccormack-at-mortonarb.org) or Marvin (marvinlo-at-mortonarb.org).
​Elizabeth Angyal
Minirhizotronologist

Amy Benck
Digital root library

Veta Bonnewell
Data processing and analysis

Cathy Cox
Soil respiration

Larry Humberstone
Soil respiration
​

Steve Mickelson
Soil respiration

Bob Nesnidal
Soil respiration
​
​Emily Porter
Bit of everything


Bill Prescott
Bit of everything
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Thank you to all our outstanding volunteers (February 2024)!
​​Julie Spotts
Soil respiration

Laurie Stokes
Cicada work

Prospective students and visitors

We strive to maintain a collaborative, respectful, and inclusive work environment. We are broadly interested in addressing exciting and impactful questions relating to plant, root, and mycorrhizal ecology, forest ecosystems and urban tree ecology, as well as ecosystem and global-scale modeling. If you are intersted in visiting or joining our lab, reach out to Luke (lmccormack-at-mortonarb.org) or Marvin (marvinlo-at-mortonarb.org) to discuss your interests.

For individuals wishing to pursue a Master's Degree or PhD, the Root Lab is affiliated with the Department of Biological Sciences at the Univeristy of Illinois Chicago. Please look into details for admissions here. We host Postdoctoral Researchers directly at The Morton Arboretum. 

We encourage prospective graduate students and postdocs to also consider applications to various funding opportunities that can help support and enhance their potential work as part of our team. We maintain a running list of potential funding opportunities HERE.

​Lab alumni
Deborah Duong - NSF REU student (2024)
Yoara Nadal García - NSF REU student (2025)
Claire Kaliski ​Research Intern (2024)
Jessica Langguth - Lab Affiliate, REU student and REEF Fellow (2019-2023)
Jada Martinez - NSF REU student (2024)
Emily Myers - NSF REU student (2023)
Renee Ramos - Research Intern (2023)
Sarah Romy - Research Intern (2022)

Kai Stefani - Research Technician Fellow (2025)
Newton Tran - Research Assistant and Lab Affiliate (2019-2023)
Isabella Vergara - NSF REU student (2022)
Ashley Wrobel - Research Technician Fellow (2020)
Penny Yost - NSF REU student (2025)
Volunteers - Don Brown, Bernie Mac, Jen Meyers, Larry Peterman


​Lab Time Machine

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Summer 2024. From Left to Rright: Nicholas Medina, Kelsey Patrick, Marvin Lo, Jada Martinez, Deb Duong, Ryo Nakahata, Luke McCormack, Teodora Nikitin, Carla Rosenfeld.
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Summer 2022. From left to right: Carla Rosenfeld, Kelsey Patrick, Isabella Vergara, Luke McCormack, Sarah Romy, Marvin Lo.
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Summer 2023. From Left to right Renee Ramos, Teddy Stoycheva, Emily Myers, Luke McCormack (kneeling cause he is tall), Carla Rosenfeld, Kelsey Patrick, Marvin Lo.
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Summer 2019. Lab members Marvin Lo then Luke McCormack (left), with Newton Tran (front right), together with lab friends Colleen Iversen (center), with Jeff Warren and Anthony Walker (back right).
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