Mentorship

I have mentored seven undergraduate research students, including four who developed independent research projects with me. I love introducing mentees to the uncertainty, excitement, and discovery of evolutionary ecology. As a mentor, my philosophy is to offer students flexibility in the questions and direction they take their independent work, while creating structure and support and guiding students towards exciting and publishable projects. I start by introducing students to the research I am actively conducting, giving them an opportunity to gain skills and confidence in the field, as well as a space to begin asking their own questions about the natural world. Together, we start to craft a specific question and project design that is interesting to each student while remaining feasible by aligning with lab and field resources and my scientific expertise.

Another aspect of my mentoring approach acknowledges that most intense moment of growth occurs during the data analysis and story-formation stages of the project. I offer students extra support and take the time during this period to help students fully understand and articulate their project. As they prepare to present their work , I emphasize that after their months intense work on their project, they are the domain expert in the room; no one knows more than they do about their project, and I have watched that knowledge buoy their confidence and help them get the most out of presenting their work to their peers and mentors.

All of my REU mentees have continued working with me to publish their summer work:

Wheeler, D.^, Martin-Eberhardt, S.^, Gilbert, K.J. (2025). Leaf litter capture in the carnivorous pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea: a preliminary study. J. of Plant Interact.
^ Co first authors [PDF] Dillon Wheeler was an undergrad at Lee Univesity. He is now a PhD student in Naomi Pierce’s Lab at Harvard.

Wagner, E.^, Martin-Eberhardt, S.^, Weber, M. G., Gilbert,K. J. Shedding light on fenestrations in pitcher plants: a test for convergent function. in review
Emma Wagner was an undergrad at CalPoly Humboldt and returned for a second summer on an REU extension. She is now a masters student with Juliette Rubin at Texas Tech.

Gaughan, M.^, Pan, V.^, Martin-Eberhardt, S. Wetzel, & W.C., Gilbert, K. J. (2026) Herbivory weakens the stability of a floral polymorphism. The American Naturalist. Mia Gaughan was an undergrad at Vassar College and was primarily mentored in her REU by Vincent Pan. She is now a PhD student at the Missouri Botanical Garden. [link]