Plant Evolution, Function, & Geography at UMaine
Research
We are interested in understanding how plant diversity arises and is maintained in face of environmental variability across space and time. Our research focuses on four core areas and their interface: 1) uncovering the evolutionary relationships among species and populations using molecular tools, 2) understanding the spatial distribution of plant taxonomic and genetic diversity across scales, 3) inferring the evolution of plant physiology and functional attributes, and 4) detecting plant diversity using leaf reflectance spectra. Our group is part of the ASCEND Biology Integration Institute and the Maine Center for Genetics in the Environment.
Themes
Phylogenetics and Population Genetics
Biogeography
Evolution of Physiology & Functional Traits
Spectral detection of plant diversity
Join Us!
Undergrads
Please contact Dudu about opportunities. We are excited to welcome students that want to develop a capstone project or an honors thesis. We often have opportunities for undergrads to work with a graduate student, postdoc, or in the herbarium.
PhD students
We are currently offering one PhD position in the lab funded through a combination of research and teaching assistantships. I am always happy to work with you on an NSF Graduate Fellowship. Please contact Dudu with a CV and a brief statement of research interests.
Postdocs
We currently have a 3-year postdoc position available as part of the ASCEND Biology Integration Institute. The postdoc will develop macroevolutionary models for leaf optical traits to understand the evolution of plant function and to detect plant diversity.