people
John Benning
he/him
Principal Investigator
jbenning@cornell.edu
John received his undergraduate degree in Anthropology from UNC-Chapel Hill, then spent a couple years traveling the country doing field biology before starting his PhD at the University of Minnesota with Dave Moeller. He is an evolutionary ecologist broadly interested in the evolutionary processes that mediate ecological patterns. John just moved to Ithaca from Minneapolis with his wife, Anna, and their children, Theo (5) and Torin (1). When he’s not chasing the kids down the block, John likes to grow plants, attempt various DIY projects, and play drums.
Maddie Ore
Postdoctoral Researcher
mjo234@cornell.edu
Coming soon
Joanie Cha
they/them
PhD Student
jc3922@cornell.edu
Coming soon
Ella Mancino
Research Specialist (jointly with the Agrawal Lab)
emm359@cornell.edu
Coming soon
Nia Delardi
Undergraduate Researcher
Emma Poplyk
Undergraduate Researcher
Sean Kim
Undergraduate Researcher
You?
We are looking for postdocs, graduate students, undergraduate researchers, and collaborators to join the lab!
Friends of the lab
Jacob Landis
Computational biologist, Cornell University
Lab alumni
Anna Cohen
Lab Manager, 2026
Currently: graduate school at U. Toronto