Claire Winfrey is a PhD candidate in CU Boulder’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EBIO) working with CIRES Fellow Noah Fierer and Julian Resasco. Her research focuses on soil and air microorganisms — and it is “never boring because [she gets] to combine fieldwork, lab work, and a lot of data analysis.” Winfrey has spent 3 summers during her PhD sampling microbes from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, which hosts a large, long-running ecological experiment. If she could only have 3 apps on her phone, Winfrey would keep Seek by iNaturalist for identifying wildlife, plants, and fungi, Libby for audiobooks, and Forest for setting focus time. Winfrey loves to go herping, or searching for reptiles and amphibians, “especially when [she travels] to places that get more rain!”

Humans of CIRES Q&A

Q: What do you study at CIRES?

I research the spatial patterns of soil and air microorganisms, considering environmental conditions and physiological traits to understand why microbes are where they are. My work is never boring because I get to combine fieldwork, lab work, and a lot of data analysis!

Q: Where is the most exciting place you’ve traveled for your research/job?

My favorite place that I’ve conducted fieldwork is the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, because it hosts one of the largest and longest-running corridor and habitat fragmentation experiments in the world, the Corridor Project. This part of the Southeast, specifically the longleaf pine savanna ecosystem, is also a global hotspot for herbaceous plant biodiversity. I’ve had the opportunity to collect soil, air, and leaf-inhabiting microbe samples in this experimental landscape for 3 summers during my PhD.

Q: Best advice someone’s given you?

"If at first you don't succeed, find out why"-- Ms. Frizzle, the Magic Schoolbus

Q: If you had to delete all but 3 apps from your smartphone, which ones would you keep?

I have been really into the iNaturalist-powered Seek app for the past year, which lets me (somewhat confidently) identify new species I see in nature. To borrow audiobooks from the library, I love using the app, Libby. Finally, the Forest app is a fun way to focus on tasks: it locks down other apps on my phone while I set a timer to 'grow' virtual plants! Then I can use the ‘coins’ I earn in the app to plant real trees!

Q: Tell us about a hobby of yours.

I worked in the Herpetology Department at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History during my time as an undergrad at the University of Oklahoma. From this experience, I know that one of my favorite things is to look for salamanders and frogs! I go 'herping' often (especially when I travel to places that get more rain)!