Elizabeth is a soil microbial ecologist interested in exploring how fungal and bacterial communities influence ecosystem functions, specifically carbon and nitrogen cycling. She is particularly interested in observing interactions between soil microbes and nutrient cycling within soil aggregates. Her research focuses on grassland systems and restoration ecology. She received her Ph. D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Iowa State University (2014) and M.Sc. in Plant Biology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2009). Elizabeth joined the Wall Lab in 2016 as the Executive Director of the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative based at the School of Global Environmental Sustainability.