Mia Howard

Dr. Mia Howard received her bachelors in biological sciences from Wellesley College where she worked in Dr. Martina Königer's lab. After graduation, she continued to develop her love of plants working with Dr. Kristina Jones at the Wellesley College Botanic garden. Dr. Howard earned her PhD from Cornell University in Dr. André Kessler's lab. Before coming to the University of Michigan, she conducted postdoctoral research with Dr. Jen Lau at Indiana University.

Research Area(s)

• Plant defense
• Herbivory
• Mutualism
• Plant-microbe interactions

Research Interests

Unlike most animals, plants can’t run from the creatures that eat them. However, they are masterful chemists and can defend themselves with potent toxins. Dr. Howard studies how plants protect their tissues from herbivores and how soil-dwelling microbes can support (or thwart) their efforts. Her current research explores the ecology and evolution of these plant-herbivore-microbe relationships using the common white clover as a focal system. Clovers and other legumes form resource mutualisms with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia), which are an important part of global nutrient cycles. White clovers are also polymorphic for cyanogenesis (the production of a nitrogen-containing defense compound), a trait that could be enhanced through efficient partnerships with nitrogen-fixing symbionts. Dr. Howard's current research examines how these nitrogen-fixers affect the evolution of cyanide production in clovers, and conversely, how cyanide production affects the evolution of mutualism.

Fields of Study

• Community ecology
• Evolutionary ecology
• Chemical ecology