Courtney Archer
Assistant Professor
Animal Sciences
My research focuses on animal behavior, welfare, and physiology—primarily in swine, but extending across livestock, companion, and zoo species. I use noninvasive methods to understand and improve animal welfare by working with, rather than against, animals’ natural behaviors. By designing systems and environments that align with species-typical motivation, my goal is to enhance welfare outcomes while reducing the workload and cost for the humans who care for them.
Departmental directory: https://ansc.illinois.edu/directory/arche214
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QXKwfMoAAAAJ&hl=en
Matthew Berry
Assistant Professor
Veterinary Clinical Medicine
As a clinician-scientist, I leverage companion animals with cancer as an informative model to expedite the clinical translation of scientific discoveries. My unique training allows my laboratory to rapidly investigate and translate novel treatment strategies in dogs and cats with cancer and conduct meaningful comparative oncology research.
Departmental directory: https://ahs.illinois.edu/Brittlebank
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/matthew-robert-berry/
Research group website: https://vetmed.illinois.edu/berry-discovery-lab/team/matt-berry/
Haden Botkin
Assistant Professor
Human Development and Family Studies and Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communications
I am interested primarily in how actors in communities, organizations, and systems (broadly) come together to address their shared challenges. Much of my research is conducted through a lens of collective leadership, which is shorthand for community-led change enacted through asset-based, systems-engaged, and inclusive approaches. In order for collective leadership to flourish and sustain, we have to begin disentangling leadership from solely position and/or authority. To that end, I explore what is required to shift mental models and cognitive structures of leadership from traditional, “heroic” defaults to more collective, relational, and processual ways of thinking and doing. I am also interested in best practices and approaches to studying complexity and systems change, largely through multi and mixed method research designs. Tertiary interests include environmental leadership, service-learning and campus/community partnerships, and program evaluation.
Departmental directory: https://alec.illinois.edu/directory/hmbotkin
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=S2KYM7wAAAAJ&hl=en
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Haden-Botkin
Sarah El-Azab
Assistant Professor
Health and Kinesiology
My research investigates how big data and technology shape healthcare delivery and implications for health equity. The first aim of my research program is to critically examine how data are generated, exchanged, and used by healthcare organizations, with a focus on how underlying organizational practices contribute to biased data and technologies. The second aim of my research program explores how to design and implement antiracist and justice-centered healthcare algorithms. The overarching goal of my scholarship is to advance health equity by facilitating ethical, just, and community-centered use of data to inform research, policy, and practice.
Departmental directory: https://hk.illinois.edu/directory/profile/saelazab/
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=x4c4mmwAAAAJ&hl=en
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/sarah-anter-ahmed-el-azab/
Maria Alejandra Garcia
Assistant Professor
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
My research advances the understanding of justice dimensions in rural sustainability, as well as the positive and negative effects of projects in agriculture and environmental services on rural communities. We conduct applied research, collaborate with local organizations, engage in interdisciplinary work and use qualitative and quantitative methods from the social sciences. Focus areas include rural women’s empowerment, and the interaction between social dimensions and the implementation of environmentally sustainable practices in agriculture.
Departmental directory: https://dev.nres.illinois.edu/directory/mariaag
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5pYUC_QAAAAJ&hl=en
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/maria-alejandra-garcia-otero/
Research group website: https://publish.illinois.edu/garcialab/
Jonathan Henn
Assistant Professor
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
I study grassland plants and how they respond to environmental changes and disturbances like climate change and fire.
Departmental directory: https://dev.nres.illinois.edu/directory/hennj
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tXRyUv4AAAAJ&hl=en
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/jonathan-jeffrey-henn/
Research group website: https://jonhenn.weebly.com/
John Jones
Assistant Professor
Crop Sciences
From atoms to acres, I study the behavior and management of soil and plant nutrients to achieve efficient, profitable, and sustainable crop production in Illinois and the U.S. Midwest.
Departmental directory: https://cropsciences.illinois.edu/directory/jones86
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/john-david-jones/
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John-Jones-9
Stefanie Martinez-Fuentes
Assistant Professor
Human Development and Family Studies
My research examines the cultural skills that promote ethnic-racial minoritized youths’ academic achievement and psychosocial well-being. She aims to unpack the diverse experiences of minoritized communities based on their gender, age, immigrant background, and other characteristics. Through this work, she hopes to contribute to culturally informed interventions, practices, and policies that support minoritized families’ well-being and empower youth to reach their academic potential.
Departmental directory: https://hdfs.illinois.edu/directory/smfuente
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ESMTteUAAAAJ&hl=en
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/stefanie-martinez-fuentes/
James Santiago
Assistant Professor
Crop Sciences
My research focuses on the effects of high-temperature stress on flowers of field-grown specialty crops and on improving vegetable production indoors, such as greenhouses and vertical farms. He also develops and integrates sustainable solutions to increase indoor and outdoor horticultural crop production.
Departmental directory: https://cropsciences.illinois.edu/directory/jpsant7
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VikkV1UAAAAJ&hl=en
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/james-patrick-madrid-santiago/
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Santiago-2
Research group website: https://www.hortphyslab.org/
Aaron Staples
Assistant Professor
Agricultural & Consumer Economics
My research program evaluates stakeholder decision-making across food and beverage supply chains, with an emphasis on three overlapping areas: consumer demand, food policy, and agribusiness management. By analyzing consumer choice, regulatory impacts, and market shocks, I aim to generate insights that support industry members, policymakers, and the general public.
Departmental directory: https://ace.illinois.edu/directory/astaples
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MdNCh7AAAAAJ&hl=en
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/aaron-joseph-staples/
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aaron-Staples
Research group website: https://aaronjstaples.wordpress.com/
Pablo Torres Aguilar
Assistant Professor
Food Science and Human Nutrition
My research will focus on leveraging innovative methodologies and stakeholder-driven research to advance knowledge and design impactful public health nutrition interventions. Through collaborations with academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits, the mission is to bridge the gap between evidence and practice, ensuring that nutrition science translates into tangible health outcomes for the communities we serve.
Departmental directory: https://fshn.illinois.edu/directory/pctorres
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/pablo-cesar-torres-aguilar/
Christopher Wirz
Assistant Professor
Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communications
I study risk and science communication related to the environmental and agriculture. My work focuses on developing and implementing environmental technologies and predictions that serve people.
Departmental directory: https://alec.illinois.edu/directory/wirz
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=cOo6NF8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Illinois Experts: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/persons/christopher-dean-wirz/
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher-Wirz