Jessica R. Miesel, Ph.D | Principal Investigator

Curriculum Vitae

​Jessica is an ecosystem ecologist broadly interested in fire ecology and effects in temperate forests and grasslands. Her research includes basic and applied science questions focused on understanding fire and management effects on ecosystem carbon dynamics, nutrient pools and fluxes in coniferous forest soils, the biogeochemical role of natural and anthropogenic black carbon in soil ecosystem processes, and comparative effects among fire and fire surrogate ecosystem management strategies. Her research interests are informed by experience in wildland fire suppression, fuels reduction and prescribed fire operations, and fire effects monitoring and research. Although her research focuses primarily on forested ecosystems, her interests in fire and sustainable land management practices have spanned native and reconstructed grasslands, barrens, and agroforestry systems. She enjoys working collaboratively and across disciplines, and is always seeking out new methods, approaches, and partnerships to answer ecological questions. She was an Associate Professor at Michigan State University before joining the faculty at University of Idaho, where she serves as Director for the IFIRE Combustion Laboratory.

---

Joseph Birch | Postdoctoral Fellow

Joseph graduated from the University of Alberta in 2020 with a PhD in Forest Biology and Management and joined the Miesel lab as a postdoctoral fellow. Originally from Utah, he got his B.S. in Conservation and Restoration Ecology at Utah State University in his hometown of Logan. His previous research focused on how forest demography, succession, and growth changed through time and with disturbance and how belowground fungal communities interact with forests across time and space. His current research is focused on identifying how fire severity and frequency influences carbon loss and ecosystem recovery across a fire-severity gradient in forests across California. Joseph has a passion for fieldwork and dendroecology and spends an inordinate amount of time in the mountains sleuthing out old trees.

---

Eugenia Kelly Batista | Postdoctoral Fellow

​Kelly is a postdoctoral fellow with a research focus on fire ecology. She is a biologist who works at the intersection of ecological theory, technology, and management practices. She earned her PhD from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and Charles Darwin University, Australia. Her previous research focused on combining data from multiple sensors (LiDAR, GEDI, and Landsat) to create decision support systems for fire management in forest ecosystems in the western United States. Her mission is to translate complex data into valuable insights, ensuring that fire management is not only efficient but also sustainable and aligned with biodiversity conservation. With a strong background in geospatial analysis and remote sensing, Kelly’s research uses artificial intelligence, fire behavior modeling, and climate simulations to assess the long-term effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments. She works with an extensive and unique dataset that includes both short- and long-term measurements.
​

---

Bronte Sone | Postdoctoral Fellow

Bronte is a postdoctoral fellow investigating the impacts of wildfire severity on soil properties and microbial communities. Understanding how fire impacts soil increases our ability to mitigate the negative effects of fire on forest health and informs prescribed fire management practices. Bronte earned a B.S. in Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Maine and a PhD in Soil and Land Resources from the University of Idaho. Her doctoral research focused on how tillage and cover cropping practices influence soil microbial communities, nutrient cycles, and cash crop growth. Bronte’s research aims to link soil microbial communities and ecosystem function using stable isotope ecology, biogeochemical analyses, and metagenomic techniques. She believes that connecting soil microbial identity to function is essential for developing management practices that enhance ecosystem resiliency and stability in the face of global change.  

---

Md Didarul Islam | Research Scientist

Md Didarul Islam is a postdoctoral Research Scientist with expertise in remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and machine learning. He holds a Ph.D. in Earth Systems and Geoinformation Science from George Mason University, where his research focused on vegetation mapping, forest cover change, and predictive modeling using satellite imagery and weather data. He has extensive experience working with remote sensing indices such as NDVI, NBR, and dNBR for wildfire assessment, as well as NOAA NCAR weather data for risk modeling. His work integrates machine learning techniques, including Random Forest and deep learning, to enhance spatial predictions and automate geospatial workflows. Leveraging platforms like Google Earth Engine and OpenStreetMap, he develops high-resolution climate and land use models to support environmental and wildfire research..
​

---

Emily Sprague | Data Analyst

​
Emily holds a Master’s degree in microbial ecology from Western Michigan University and spent time as a technician at Eastern Michigan University studying the impact of various rhizobia species on tallgrass prairie legume biomass. She joined the Miesel Lab as lab manager in 2022. Since the lab move to the University of Idaho, she has continued working remotely as a data analyst and supporting lab management. She has provided logistical and data management support for several projects, including the use of FTIR spectroscopy to characterize soil, the impact of forest fire severity on soil quality, and a forest assisted migration study. Outside of the lab, Emily enjoys gardening, gaming, and music.

---

Ethan Reich | Undergraduate Researcher & Technician

Ethan Reich is a senior Chemistry major interested in new applications for analytical chemistry techniques. He completed a mentored research project using mid-infrared spectroscopy to characterize forest litter composition as part of a study investigating how ecosystem characteristics influence soil recovery over the longer-term after fire. He also works as a technician assisting on multiple projects.

ALUMNI

Postdocs

Tyler Refsland, Ph.D | Postdoctoral Research Associate | 2021-2022

Kathleen Quigley, Ph.D | Postdoctoral Research Associate | 2017-2020

Bernardo Maestrini, Ph.D | Postdoctoral Research Fellow | Swiss National Science Foundation | 2014-2016

Fernanda Santos, Ph.D | Postdoctoral Research Associate | 2014-2015

Graduate Students

Sara Sadeghi | MSc Student | Crop and Soil Science | 2024

Faisal Sherif, MSc | Crop and Soil Science | 2023

Arlo Robles, MSc | Crop and Soil Science | 2023

Jaron Adkins, Ph.D | Ph.D Student | Crop and Soil Science; Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior | 2021

Chase O'Neil, MSc | Plant Sciences Fellow | 2021

Joshua James, MSc | Forestry | 2018

Waqas Umar | Visiting Ph.D Student | PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Pakistan | 2020

Lucas Michelotti, MSc | Forestry | 2016

Han Ren | Visiting Ph.D Student | Guangxi University, China | 2016

Victor Fernandez Garcia | Visiting Ph.D Student | University of Leon, Spain | 2016

Technicians & Undergraduate Researchers

Kya Sparks | Undergraduate Researcher & Technician | 2021-2022

Midhun Gelder | Lab Technician | 2019-2021

Megan Orlando | Undergraduate Researcher | 2020

Kristin Peters | Research Technician | 2017-2019

Becky Wildt | Undergraduate Researcher & Research Technician | 2016-2017

Camryn Brent | Undergraduate Researcher | 2019-2021

Dominic Uhelski | Undergraduate Researcher & Technician | 2015-2017

Ellie Domer | Research Technician | 2014-2017

Mauro Pinelli | Visiting Undergraduate Researcher | University of Sassari, Italy | 2016

Brian Smith | Research Technician | 2016

Merissa Strawsine | Research Technician | 2015

Jonathan Huck | Research Technician | 2013-2014

Karli Miller | Research Technician | 2013