Announcing Winners of the 2026 La Kretz Center and Stunt Ranch Reserve Research Awards
Congratulations to our 2026 awardees!
Congratulations to the 12 UCLA conservation researchers awarded the 2026 La Kretz Center and Stunt Ranch Reserve Research Awards! Use the links below to visit their project page and learn more about their background and project goals.
Divine Adeboye (Undergraduate): Chemical Interference in California Grasslands: Investigating the Allelopathic Effects of Pennisetum setaceum on Native Grasses.
Jill Carpenter (Graduate): Artificial Light at Night and Bat Movement Along Ecological Corridors.
Willow Coleman (Graduate): Monitoring Goldspotted Oak Borer (GSOB) Spread in Southern California with Imaging Spectroscopy
Annabelle Conti (Undergraduate): Genome-Resolved Survey of Microbiomes Associated with Multiple Crustose Coralline Algae Genera in southern California.
Joseph Curti (Postdoc): Assessing Spatial and Altitudinal Variation in Artificial Light at Night Across Urban Los Angeles.
Devon DeRaad (Postdoc): Understanding the Historical Demography and Current Strength of Inbreeding Depression in Island Scrub-jays.
Jacqueline Holmes (Graduate): Patterns of Adaptive Genetic Variation in a Chaparral Oak, Quercus berberidifolia.
Max Reines (Undergraduate): Baccharis pilularis as a Nursery Species in the Fire-Prone Santa Monica Mountains.
Zoe Saxer (Undergraduate): Abalone Larvae Settlement and the California Crustose Coralline Algae Microbiome
Olivia Simons (Graduate): Quantifying Cold-Water Coral Community Composition Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding Analysis
Gauri Vishnoi (Undergraduate): Ambient Temperature and Bird Flight Initiation Distance in Urban vs. Rural Population Areas.
Heidi Yang (Graduate): Assessing resilience of native oaks in Los Angeles urban forest using
genetic information
