Deborah McGrath
Professor of Biology, Sewanee

Ph.D.  Forest Ecology, Biogeochemistry, University of Florida, 1998
M.S.   Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, 1993
B.A.   International Relations, Economics, University of Wisconsin, 1986

My name is Deborah McGrath, and my work centers around Applied Environmental Ecology. I am dedicated research that helps restore ecological processes to address environmental challenges.  I really love involving undergrads in my research - both in my lab at Sewanee, but also in various destinations across the world. Over the past decade, I have led dozens of research trips in Haiti and more recently China. 

​My passion for Applied Environmental Ecology emerged during my years working in the Peace Corps where I lived in Benin and Guinea (West Africa), working with community members to respond to issues related to deforestation, in a way that was contextually appropriate. Similarly, I conducted research with Brazilian farmers to determine how their agroforestry systems could be managed to function more sustainably and reduce pressure on Amazonian forest.  Community-based participatory research is a foundational tool in my research.
Few professors are as dedicated to helping their students succeed as Dr. McGrath... [She] doesn't just teach biology, she teaches how to think about the world as the complex system that it is"        ​-Ratemyprofessor.com

Meet Our Team

Marc Monteil (C'22), Crystal Ngo (C'20), and Bernice Leveque (C'21)
Crystal and Bernice surveyed households in the community of Bois Jolie during the summer of 2018 to learn how payments for carbon sequestration benefit farmers and encourage tree planting in Haiti's Central Plateau.  Marc joined the project to help analyze the surveys.

Kristina Romanenkova (C'23)
​Constructed Wetlands Intern summer 2020
Kristina came to Sewanee from Moscow, Russia, pursuing her passion for the environment. She is interested in exploring how human activities alter natural processes and how those alterations can be reversed or mitigated. Kristina is also passionate about environmental education and philosophy. She plans to major in Environmental Arts and Humanities. 

Lab Alumni

Haiti - Carbon Sequestration

Crystal Ngo C'20 - (Environment & Sustainability)

Chris Hornsby C'19 - (Environmental Arts & Humanities)

Cal Oakley C'19 - (Ecology & Biodiversity) - Graduate student at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment
​
Ben McKenzie C'17 - (Ecology & Biodiversity) - Graduate Research Assistant at Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences

Duncan Pearce C'17 - (Biology) - in Medical School at Louisiana State University 

Peter Davis C'17 - (Natural Resources) - Peace Corp volunteer in Ethiopia where he works with coffee agroforestry systems

Keri Watson C'13 - (Ecology & Biodiversity) - Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Systems. Sewanee: The University of the South

Will Watson C'12 - (Natural Resources) - partner at The Ready, and Co-founder of compasshq.com


China - Civil Society and Water Pollution Monitoring

Allen Doyle T'20 - (M.A. Religion and Environment) - Adjunct Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Des Moines Area Community College

Wilder McCoy C'20 - (Natural Resources, and International & Global Studies) - Watershed Impact Analyst at SOSystem Wastewater

Isabel Smith C'20 - (Chemistry) 

Erin Gill C'19 - (Biology) - in Medical School at The Ohio State University

Anna Westmoreland C'19 - (Chemistry) - in Medical School


Sewanee - Constructed Wetlands Research Station 

Wilder McCoy C'20 - (Natural Resources and International Global Studies) Awarded a Watson Fellowship to study water justice

Isabel Smith C'20 - (Chemistry) 

​Caroline Wright C'20 - (Biochemistry) 

Erin Gill C'19 - (Biology) in Medical School at The Ohio State University

Anna Westmoreland C'19 - (Chemistry) - in Medical School

Georgia Konstam C'19 - (Political Science & Government) - in Law School 

Alec Chennault C'19 - (Biology) 

Megan Hopson C'17 - (Environment & Sustainability) - PhD student studying Water at UGA Odum School of Ecology