Research Interests

I am drawn to questions about how plants evolve, develop, and interact with their environments.

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Evolutionary Biology & Ecology

I am interested in phylogenetic systematics, evolutionary genomics, and how interactions between organisms and their environments shape adaptation.

NLR evolution research →

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Conservation Genetics & Biodiversity

I am interested in using genetic diversity, population structure, evolutionary history, and biogeography to understand biodiversity and inform conservation.

Conservation genomics research →

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Plant Development & Ecophysiology

I am interested in how developmental programs shape plant organs and how plant–environment interactions influence physiological and ecological responses.

Current research at NYBG →

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Acer negundo

I took this photo at Beijing Botanical Garden in Beijing, China.

The male flowers have long, slender, pendulous filaments that expose their anthers to air currents. This floral architecture is associated with wind pollination and helps pollen disperse into the air.

I chose this photograph to represent my interest in adaptive evolution: how natural selection shapes functional traits, and how their effectiveness depends on the surrounding environment.

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Zamia sp.

I took this photo at Montgomery Botanical Center in Coral Gables, near Miami, Florida.

Zamia belongs to an ancient cycad lineage with a fossil history spanning hundreds of millions of years, although living Zamia species diversified much more recently. Many cycads are now threatened by habitat loss and illegal collecting.

Habitat fragmentation can leave small, isolated populations with limited gene flow, increasing their vulnerability to genetic drift and inbreeding. I chose this photograph because it connects my interests in biogeography and population genetics with the need to conserve both plant diversity and genetic connectivity.

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Couroupita guianensis

I took this photo at Penang Botanic Gardens in Penang, Malaysia.

The flower has two distinct regions of the androecium: a staminal ring that produces fertile pollen as individual grains, and an androecial hood whose staminodes produce non-germinating pollen in tetrads—groups of four grains—collected by visiting bees as food.

This separation of pollen in both space and function drew my attention. I chose this photograph to represent my interest in how developmental specialization gives rise to distinctive plant forms and shapes their interactions with other organisms.