Graduate Directory

Research Interests

Research interests include agroecology, biodiversity and agroecosystem function, farm management practices and implications for ecology, soil microbial ecology, dung beetles, climate change and agriculture, and regenerative agriculture

Biography, Education and Training

Suzanne is a fifth year PhD candidate in Dr. Philpott's lab (ANTS Lab). She holds a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University and a BA from the University of Michigan. Her post college-pre-graduate school experience working in the restaurant industry, particularly as a pastry chef in farm to table restaurants, led to her interest in sustainable agriculture and agrifood systems. Before pursuing her Ph.D. she worked for several non-profits focused on food and agriculture and was Assistant Director at the Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability at Columbia University. Her research interests are in agroecology, biodiversity and ecosystem function, soil microbial ecology, and the role of arthropods in agroecosystems. 

Suzanne's dissertation research examines how aboveground agroecosystem management impacts belowground ecosystem function, with a focus on soil microbes and soil organic matter. Specifically she studies how dung beetle abundance and diversity influences soil micorbes and soil organic carbon in pasture systems of California's central coast. 

Selected Publications

Publications:

Lipton, S., Meyer, R. S., Richardson, G., & Philpott, S. M. 2023. Onthophagus taurus Increases Soil Microbes Associated with Nutrient Cycling in California Pastureland Soils. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 91, 24-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2023.07.007

Naeem, S, Lipton, S. & van Huysen, T. 2021. Sustainable Food Production: A Primer for the 21st Century. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN: 9780231189651.