About Me
I'm Kasey Kiesewetter, a postdoctoral researcher for People, Cities and Nature working in Dr. Andrew Barnes' lab. I successfully defended by Ph.D in December 2022 in Dr. Michelle Afkhami's lab at the University of Miami. My interest in ecology started during my undergraduate career at Case Western Reserve University, where I graduated with a B.S. in biology in 2016. After this, I joined the Afkhami lab to pursue my interests in studying how species interactions are affected by anthropogenic disturbances. Specifically, I focused on understanding how habitat fragmentation affects microbiomes and their interactions with plants, in a critically imperiled ecosystem, the pine rocklands. I joined the People, Cities, and Nature program to continue working with urban soil microbiomes and am currently focused on understanding how restoration impacts belowground biodiversity across Aotearoa.
When I am not in the lab or out doing field work, I spend my free time outside where I enjoy camping, hiking, gardening, and learning about local plants and animals.