Liza Comita, a forest ecologist who studies the dynamics of tropical forests with an emphasis on understanding the processes that maintain forest diversity and ecosystem function, was recently appointed the Davis-Denkmann Professor of Tropical Forest Ecology, effective immediately.
Comita, who joined the Yale School of the Environment (YSE) faculty in 2014, also served as inaugural co-director of the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture (YCNCC), a university hub for cutting-edge research in natural climate solutions and part of Yale Planetary Solutions. She also has a secondary appointment in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Her innovative work integrates field studies, experimental approaches, and quantitative modeling to address critical questions in forest ecology. Her research has been published in leading scientific journals, including Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reflecting her status as a top-tier scholar in her field. With more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, her work is highly influential and widely cited, underscoring her role as a leading scientist in tropical forest ecology.
Comita's scholarly contributions include pioneering studies on the role of natural enemies in forest recovery and the impacts of climate change on tropical tree species. Her work has been recognized by several prestigious awards, including the Founders' Prize from the British Ecological Society, and she was recognized as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2022.
Her research endeavors have attracted substantial external funding, including major grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Notably, she is a co-PI on a recent large NSF grant with Paulo Brando to examine plant-animal interactions and the cascading impacts of Amazon forest fragmentation, funded at $2.45 million. With colleagues in Europe, she has also secured funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation to expand her project in Panama focused on forest recovery following human disturbance.
In addition to her research achievements, Comita is a dedicated and highly effective educator. She teaches the highly-rated course "Tropical Field Ecology," which provides students with unique hands-on experiences and critical thinking skills. She is also deeply committed to mentoring students. To date, she has mentored 11 Ph.D. students, two M.F.S. students, and 13 postdoctoral researchers in her lab, demonstrating a dedication to fostering the next generation of environmental scientists. In 2016, she received the Yale University Postdoctoral Mentoring Prize.
Comita's leadership extends beyond the classroom and laboratory. As the inaugural co-director of the YCNCC, a role she held until June 30, she oversaw the establishment of key programs that cross schools and departments across the university, including succeeding by co-leading a complex and highly successful cluster hire across four units at Yale. The result has been a highly collaborative cohort of faculty that span disciplines and home departments. In her role with YCNCC, she also co-led an interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship program and multiple successful research initiatives. Her efforts have significantly advanced the center's mission to develop solutions-oriented research on natural carbon capture. Comita also serves on various committees within YSE and the broader university, contributing to strategic planning and diversity initiatives.
Comita earned her Ph.D. in plant biology from the University of Georgia, and her M.A. (in conservation biology) and B.A. (in biology) from the University of Pennsylvania.
