Two CA&ES Graduate Students Recognized for Their Research, Leadership and Service

The UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, or CA&ES, is celebrating two outstanding graduate students recognized for their research, leadership and service in advancing regenerative agriculture, wildlife ecology and conservation and environmental sustainability.

Gayatri Ganesh, earning a master’s degree with the Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management (EPM), is this year’s recipient of the Neal Van Alfen and James MacDonald Graduate Student Award. The $7,500 award honors the contributions of former CA&ES dean Neal Van Alfen and former executive associate dean James MacDonald.

“This award helps with tuition, which gives me the ability to network or take a volunteer opportunity where I’m not going to get paid, but I know I’m going to get experience like nowhere else,” Ganesh said. “An award like this gives me credibility. If somebody doesn’t know my background and they just know this, it opens a lot of doors.”

Ganesh’s work focuses on regenerative agriculture, conservation and equitable food systems through an environmental justice and One Health approach that recognizes people, animals and ecosystems are interconnected. Before coming to Davis, she spent more than two decades working as an independent researcher and grant writer in India and the United Kingdom, focusing on community development, public health and environmental and social policy. She helped grassroots organizations secure more than $6 million in funding through the U.S. Agency for International Development programs.

“Gayatri represents the kind of scholar who will shape the future of sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation,” said Jessica Penrose, EPM executive director, who recommended Ganesh for the award. “Her research bridges scientific rigor with community-based practice, connecting indigenous ecological knowledge with contemporary sustainability science.”

Ganesh recently won first place in the student poster competition at the annual One Health Symposium at UC Davis for her research on maternal health needs among semi-nomadic pastoral communities in India who migrate seasonally with their goats and sheep.

Ganesh practiced regenerative farming for six years in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve in South India, a biodiversity hotspot experiencing significant ecological decline. She is a co-founder of a non-profit organization focused on restoring native ecosystems in the Nilgiris, and developed a school curriculum that includes native plant identification, biodiversity monitoring and hands-on restoration activities by working with indigenous tribes to restore culturally significant native wetland grasses that are vital for carbon sequestration and wetland restoration.

“This piece of engaging farmers in conservation, whether it’s wetland habitat or nature-based solutions to climate change, it’s interesting to see similar problems all over the world and the strategies being trialed,” Ganesh said. “I want to be able to create a best practices toolkit that you can say, ‘I’ve got these types of problems, and I want to try a holistic approach to restoration work that collaboratively involves and empowers communities and landscapes.’”

Kinsella Memorial Prize

Ellie Bolas, who completed her Ph.D. in ecology this spring, is this year’s recipient of the Kinsella Memorial Prize for her doctoral research on how wildfires and human activities shape wildlife behavior and predator-prey interactions between mountain lions and mule deer in the greater Los Angeles area.

The award recognizes a graduate student whose Ph.D. dissertation is of high quality, original, involves more than one field of study and aligns with the CA&ES mission. The $3,500 prize was established to honor the late John Kinsella, a former CA&ES dean and internationally recognized food chemist.

“This award is amazing and a huge honor,” Bolas said. “I have really loved being a graduate student at Davis, and my graduate program and the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology have done so much to support me. I think that’s why it feels so good, because this is something that reflects well on the program and department as well.”

Her research in wildlife ecology and conservation examines how human-caused stressors, including urban development, recreation, wildfire and infrastructure, influence animal behavior and species interactions. Her dissertation identifies the ways in which wild animals adaptively shift behavior to live with and around humans and also highlights areas where they need conservation support, especially in light of increasing human impacts around the world. 

“I believe Ellie’s research will serve as a foundation for future work on climate and development impacts on wildlife, particularly in California,” said Justine Smith, associate professor of wildlife, fish and conservation biology who nominated Bolas for the award. “Her ability to provide innovative ecological inferences while also exploring interacting conservation threats is incredibly valuable for understanding and managing wildlife in the modern age.”

Bolas will continue this work as a postdoctoral researcher on two projects, including one supported by the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. The first project examines how animals in Southern California move and behave around wildlife crossings, which are structures that connect fragmented habitats and allow for safe road crossings. The second project examines how wildfire affects mule deer physiology, habitat use and population trends in Utah.

“Both projects are extensions of my dissertation work and represent my investment in research to support conservation; as infrastructure increases in California and globally, it’s important to evaluate what crossing interventions help wildlife, particularly large mammals like mountain lions and deer, behave as naturally as possible around urban development and roadways,” she said. “One of the chapters of my dissertation was examining how the fires in the Los Angeles area are influencing interactions between mountain lions and deer and that’s something I’m really interested in. Fires are only increasing and we need to understand how they’re impacting animal populations and species interactions.”