Hill Alumna, Elizabeth Nichols ’93, recently stopped by for a visit and reconnected with some of her former teachers – Jack and Sydney Bowers, Treavor Lord, Tal Mack, and Tom Northrup – and met with two of Hill’s science teachers – Lois Johnson-Mead and Martha Burke.
Elizabeth currently lives in Brazil while on a post-doctoral fellowship. Her work focuses on understanding how environmental changes can influence biodiversity, and alter the dynamics of infectious diseases. She is currently doing fieldwork in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, focused on how changes in forest cover on cattle farms influence the ability of dung beetles to control parasitic diseases in livestock.
After graduating from Hill, Elizabeth attended Loudoun Valley High School. She holds degrees from the University of Texas (BS) and from Columbia University (MA, MPhil, PhD). Previously, she has been a visiting scientist at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of History in New York City.
Elizabeth has always been curious about nature and science. In fact “the prediction section” of Hill’s 1993 yearbook forecasted that she would be a scientist.
In addition to the strong academic preparation she received, especially in writing, Elizabeth credits her experience at Hill with instilling in her the self-confidence to pursue her interests and passion.
