My lab group studies plant evolution, ecology and biogeography. I am especially interested in the history of neotropical forests and factors that drive tropical plant diversification. I have research projects in Central America and the Amazon basin as well as projects focused on eastern U.S. forests.
I am Curator of Vascular Plants at the University of Michigan Herbarium. The UM herbarium contains around 1.8 million specimens, with notable strengths in collections from the Great Lakes region and Mexico. I am actively involved in facilitating collections-based research, stewardship of the collections and specimen-based teaching.
I did my postdoctoral research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama. I maintain a formal tie to STRI as a Research Associate and continue my research in Panama through STRI and with collaborators at the University of Panama.
