Edith Bai received her BS degree in environmental science from Nankai University in China. She came to the US for graduate studies, earning a PhD degree in rangeland ecology and management from Texas A&M University. Dr. Bai joined Dr. Houlton's lab in Jan. 2008 as a postdoctoral scholar.

Dr. Bai's PhD dissertation research was aimed at quantifying spatial patterns of soil and plant carbon and nitrogen isotopes in a subtropical savanna. The focus of her current research includes the application of stable isotope techniques to biogeochemical and ecological research; modeling of nitrogen cycle processes at regional scales; and study of nutrient cycling in relation to global environmental change.