About the Speaker
Dr. Cecilia Zumajo Cardona studies plant evolution and development of reproductive structures of seed plants, which includes the beautiful diversity of flowers and the wide variety of fruits and seeds (including pine cones and their weird relatives!). Dr. Zumajo looks for the outliers, the strangest plants in nature that allow her to determine the genetic changes that have led to the diversity that surrounds us. Her approach uses classical botanical tools such as plant anatomy and morphology, as well as genomics and bioinformatic approaches to uncover the genetic basis of plant morphological diversity.