Lora Richards- Department of Biology Dr. Lora Richards found her love for chemistry and biology at an early age backpacking through California. She then went to UC Davis for her undergrad and University of Utah for her PhD. Now an assistant Professor at the University of Nevada Reno, Dr. Richards is focused on a wide range of chemically mediated ecological interactions. We are particularly interested in the role of plant chemistry in structuring diverse ecological communities. We utilize a multidisciplinary approach that combines field and laboratory approaches with the latest spectroscopic tools in organic chemistry to address basic ecological questions.