The Soil Health & Ecosystem Ecology Lab Team
Christine Sprunger, PhD
Principal Investigator
sprunge5@msu.edu
Dr. Christine Sprunger is an Associate Professor of Soil Health in the Department of Plant,
Soil, and Microbial Sciences and is based at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station. Her research focuses on the intersection of agriculture and the environment, where she investigates how various agricultural management practices impact soil health and ecosystem services. In addition, Dr. Sprunger is interested in understanding how nematode communities can serve as key soil biological health indicators within agroecosystems. Lastly, Dr. Sprunger explores how climate change impacts rhizosphere dynamics and soil food webs.
Prior to joining MSU, Dr. Sprunger was an Assistant Professor of Soil Science and Rhizosphere Processes at Ohio State University from 2018-2022. Prior to starting a faculty position, Dr. Sprunger completed a National Science Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Biology at Columbia University, where she examined the relationship between soil carbon dynamics and crop productivity in small holder farming systems in Kenya and Tanzania. Dr. Sprunger holds a Ph.D. in Crop and Soil Sciences and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior from Michigan State University, and she received both a B.S. in Forest Resources and a B.A. in Program on the Environment from the University of Washington with a minor in Human Rights.
Katherine Naasko, PhD
Postdoc
naaskoka@msu.edu
Katherine obtained her Ph.D. in Soil Science from Washington State University in December 2022. She is originally from Michigan and graduated from Michigan State University in 2016 with a B.A. in Chemistry. Katherine’s dissertation work focused on soil profile health in semi-arid winter wheat and perennial tall wheatgrass systems, in cooperation with the USDA NRCS, ARS, and DOE Pacific Northwest National Lab. Katherine joined Dr. Sprunger's lab in January 2023 and is working on several on-going projects. Her research focuses on soil health with respect to soil-plant-microbe interactions that support agroecosystem function. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, exploring nature, and spending time with family and her cats, Sapphire and Tony.
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Alexa Smychkovich, PhD
Postdoc
smychkov@msu.edu
Alexa obtained her Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Sciences from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts Amherst in Fall 2023. The primary focus of her graduate work was to improve the sustainability of cropping systems using cover crops and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, with a particular focus on soil health, nematode community composition, and cash crop yield and quality. Shortly after, she joined the Soil Health & Ecosystem Ecology lab, where she is involved in a collaborative project supported by the Environmental Defense Fund to evaluate the potential of commonly measured SOC pools for use as reliable indicators of soil carbon trajectories in agroecosystems. Her research interests are centered around the sustainable intensification of agricultural systems and the use of nematodes as biological indicators of soil health and function. In her spare time, Alexa enjoys mountain biking, spending time with friends, and hanging out with her cats, Obie and Masha.
Tvisha Martin, MS
PhD Student
mart2758@msu.edu
Tvisha Martin obtained her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Toledo in May, 2019. Additionally, Tvisha obtained her M.S from The Ohio State University in May 2021 from Dr. Christine Sprunger’s Lab. Her Master’s thesis analyzed the effects of tillage and crop rotation on soil biological health through the quantification of nematode communities. Tvisha has since started her doctoral research in the Soil Health & Ecosystem Ecology lab where her research will aim to understand how nematode communities can serve as soil biological health indicators under induced drought. Additionally, Tvisha’s doctoral research will aim to understand how soil biological health changes over the growing season under systems with a varying management gradient. Her doctoral research will be performed at the Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Restoration Site. Tvisha's research interests include quantifying soil biological health through microbial sequencing and nematode communities, optimizing agricultural management under climate change, and the using quantitative modeling to understand the soil health framework. In her free time, Tvisha enjoys running, hiking, climbing, and reading a good book.
Rachel Drobnak,BS
PhD Student
drobnakr@msu.edu
Rachel joined Dr. Sprunger’s lab as a graduate student at the end of August 2023, after graduating with her B.S. in Crop & Soil Sciences from Michigan State University in May 2023. Her research will aim to determine the impacts of prairie strips on soil health through analysis of soil food web structures, nematode communities, and a variety of soil health indicators. This research will be conducted in the LTAR (Long-Term Agroecosystem Research) and LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) plots at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station. Rachel has previously worked with MSU Extension as an Agriculture & Environment Team Assistant and as an undergraduate intern. She values research that benefits both farmers and the environment and intends to have a career in agricultural outreach. Rachel is from the Greater Cleveland area and enjoys reading, hiking, playing the carillion, and spending quality time with cats.
Megan DeLoose, BS
PhD Student
deloosem@msu.edu
Megan earned her B.S. in Biochemistry and Chemical Biology from Wayne State University in December 2022. At Michigan State University, Megan is pursuing a Ph.D. in Crop and Soil Sciences with a specialization in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. Their research will explore the potential of perennial white clover intercrops and living pathways for building soil health that benefits cash crops. She is interested in how root exudates act as an interface between plant nutrition and rhizosphere ecology. Megan is from Michigan and is passionate about supporting regenerative agriculture and local food systems in their community.
Natali Gonzalez, BS
PhD Student
gonza829@msu.edu
Natali is a graduate student in the Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences and works as a research assistant in the Sprunger Lab. She recently obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability from Michigan State University. As a first-generation student born in the United States and raised in Mexico, she has seen firsthand the vital role that soil health plays in sustaining ecosystems and communities. Her diverse experiences in agriculture have fueled her passion for sustainable agricultural practices and amplifying underrepresented voices. Natali's future aspirations include advancing soil health research and developing adaptable management practices that address environmental and community needs. She will focus on observing and measuring how various soil practices affect plant resiliency and health. By emphasizing participatory research and community engagement, she hopes to contribute to equitable, effective, and sustainable agricultural practices.
Arlo Robles, MS
Research Assistant
Before coming to the U.S., Arlo worked as an agriculturist in the Department of Agriculture in the Philippines after earning his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture major in Soil Science at the University of the Philippines – Los Baños in 2019. His professional experience, along with research on slow-release nanofertilizers and nutrient use efficiency, fueled his interest in sustainability and soil ecological functions. In 2021, Arlo moved to the U.S. to get his Master’s degree in Crop and Soil Sciences at Michigan State University. His MSc. thesis focused on assessing the effect of integrated management practices such as biochar, cover cropping, and no-till on improving crop biomass production, yield, and soil health of corn-soybean systems. He successfully completed his MSc program in December 2023. Prior to joining Sprunger Lab, Arlo worked as a Research Technician at the Cropping Systems Agronomy Lab in MSU where his main responsibilities were to conduct field measurements, laboratory and statistical analysis, and developing manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication of climate-smart related studies. In his free time and outside the academic life, Arlo enjoys coffee, reading, sleeping, playing badminton, and cuddling with his orange cat, Boots.
Meredith Mann, BA
Lab Manager
Meredith joined Dr. Sprunger's lab in the beginning of September 2019, after working for The Ohio State University's Soil Fertility Lab since 2017. As lab manager, she oversees lab operations and analyses, coordinates field research trials, and facilitates graduate and undergraduate research. Meredith is a northeast Ohio native with a B.A. in Geology from the College of Wooster. She enjoys working with the environment and in her free time can be found hiking, reading, and tending sheep.
Lisa Hargest, BS
Research Assistant
Lisa joined Dr. Sprunger’s lab as a technician in April 2024 after working as a Research Assistant in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. She gained interest in agriculture and food systems while growing up cooking in the suburbs of Baltimore, Md. She moved to Oregon in 2008, where she spent 12 years working for small vegetable, fruit, and livestock farms. She obtained her B.S. in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry at Oregon State University in 2023. While earning her undergraduate degree, she gained laboratory experience working in the molecular diagnostic lab of the Plant Clinic at Oregon State. Her work and degree experiences piqued her interest in soil health, plant pathology, plant breeding, and agroecology. In her spare time, she enjoys running, biking, walking, cooking, knitting, foraging, and spending time with her partner Anthony and tortoise shell cat named Alligator.
SPRUNGER LAB 2024
KBS on Gull Lake - Hickory Corners, MI
From left to right:
Megan DeLoose
Alexa Smychkovich
Katherine Naasko
Christine Sprunger
Meredith Mann
Rachel Drobnak
Emily Parker
Lisa Hargest
Andrew Wade &
Tvisha Martin
FORMER LAB MEMBERS
Research Technicians
Undergraduate student researchers
Nicole Hoekstra, 2018-19
Hanna Korn, 2022-24
Emily Parker, 2023-24
Andrew Wade, URA 2024
Aiden Martin, Research Assistant 2024
Ben Bridge, URA 2023
Elena Zakolski, REU 2023
Abby Rees, LTER REU 2022
Allison Bunce, Research Assistant 2022
Ainsley Lightcap, Research Assistant 2022
Jacob Murray, Research Assistant 2021-22
Christian Mammana, LTER REU 2021