Susan Whitehead
Assistant Professor

I am an evolutionary ecologist interested in the mechanisms and consequences of interactions involving plants and other organisms. My research is generally grounded in field-based studies, but I take an integrative approach that includes phytochemical analysis, laboratory bioassays, and a diversity of quantitative methods. 

I began as an assistant professor at Virginia Tech in January 2017. Previously I was a postdoctoral researcher with Katja Poveda at Cornell University and a PhD student with Deane Bowers at the University of Colorado.
Contact: swhitehead@vt.edu | Google Scholar | Research Gate | Download CV
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Jerry Schneider
Postdoctoral Researcher
I am a chemical ecologist broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of phytochemistry at the whole-plant level. Within a given plant, each organ/tissue type is often subject to divergent physiological and ecological pressures, and evolution of phytochemistry at the species level is likely to be a product of all of these pressures. Thus, I seek to develop an integrative perspective of phytochemical evolution through examining intraspecific chemotypic differentiation and plasticity across tissue types. I explore these chemical defenses in the contexts of plants' networks of biotic interactions as well as co-occurring biotic and abiotic stressors. My principal toolkit in these investigations is that of molecular networking-based metabolomics.
Contact: gfschnei@vt.edu | Research Gate
Lauren Maynard
Ph.D. Student
 I am broadly interested in the intricate puzzle of the natural world. I enjoy untangling the relationships among species and trophic levels. For my master’s research, I am working at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica studying the role of secondary metabolites in seed dispersal. My project will focus on a plant genus (Piper) and two groups of animals that consume its fruits: bats and birds.
​Contact: ldmaynar@vt.edu

Tori Meakem
M.S. Student

I am interested in multi-species interactions, with a particular focus on tree response to pest and pathogen pressures. Before joining the lab as an MS student, I worked with long-term forest monitoring plots to quantify changes in forest structure and carbon stocks. My current work involves examining the influence of different phytobiome-altering treatments on fruit chemistry and pest damage in apple trees.
Contact: vmeakem@vt.edu
Annie Zell
Lab Technician
​I'm interested in how plant ecological interactions relate to the evolution of secondary metabolism. After graduating with a B.S in Genetics and Plant Biology, I moved here from California and started working in the lab Fall 2017.
​Contact: annie@vt.edu
Alex Corrigan
Undergraduate Researcher
Alex began in the lab in Jan 2017 and is becoming a true whiz at processing chromatograms.  
​Contact: alex7@vt.edu

Your Name Here??

The Whitehead Lab would like to grow! Please see the lab opportunities section for more details and contact me if you are interested in joining!

Billy and Joe
Junior Researchers
We are a big brother & little brother team investigating the generalist foraging strategies of lepidopterans and their effects on weight gain prior to pupation.

Lab Alumni


Madison Altice
Undergraduate Researcher 
Jefferson College of Health Sciences

​I am moved by the complexity of multispecies interactions. The goal of my undergraduate research is to test the importance of induced phytochemical defenses in fruits of Physalis angulata in mediating interactions among leaf and fruit feeding herbivores.
Contact: mnaltice@jchs.edu