Meet the Scientists
Science Staff at The New York Botanical Garden
The Science Division of The New York Botanical Garden encompasses several departments and programs and includes more than one hundred scientists, including staff, graduate students, Emeritus Curators, and Affiliated Scientists. All are working toward the Garden’s scientific mission to explore, understand, and conserve the Earth’s vast botanical diversity.
Ambrose, Barbara
bambrose@nybg.org
Specialty: Plant genomics, morphology and development
Current Research Projects:
Evolution and Development in Lycophytes and Ferns
Fruit Evolution and Development
Transforming Selaginella apoda into a Major Model Species
Araújo, João
jaraujo@nybg.org
Specialty: Mycology, insect associated fungi, Cordyceps, Ophiocordyceps
Armstrong, Kathleen
karmstrong@nybg.org
Specialty: Myanmar, Himalayan and Southeast Asian floristics, systematics and biogeography of Sapotaceae
Current Research Projects:
Bringing Asia to Digital Life: Mobilizing Underrepresented Asian Herbarium Collections in the US to Propel Biodiversity Discovery
Floristic Inventory of a Neglected Biodiversity Hotspot: Myanmar’s Northern Forest Complex
Plant Conservation and Forest Resource Management in Myanmar
Balick, Michael
mbalick@nybg.org
Specialty: Ethnobotany, Poison Plants, Pacific Island Floristics
Current Research Projects:
Plant, Fungal and Linguistic Diversity of Tafea Province, Vanuatu
Plants and People of Micronesia
Plants and People of Vanuatu
Daly, Douglas
ddaly@nybg.org
Specialty: Burseraceae (frankincense family)
Current Research Projects:
Floristic Exploration in Southeast Asia
Leaf Architecture: Applications in Systematics and Forest Management
Project Rondônia and Floristic Exploration in southwest Amazon
Systematic Studies of the Burseraceae
Traditional Communities as Central Partners in the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Amazon Forests
Updating the First Catalogue of the Flora of Acre, Brazil
Diazgranados, Mauricio
mdiazgranados@nybg.org
Specialty: Biodiversity, Biogeography, Conservation, Nature-based Solutions, Taxonomy, and Systematics
Karol, Kenneth
kkarol@nybg.org
Specialty: Green Algal Systematics and Evolution (Charales)
Current Research Projects:
Expansion of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium to Incorporate Newly Acquired Specimens and Improve Curation
The Green Algae Tree of Life
The Macroalgal Herbarium Consortium: Accessing 150 Years of Specimen Data to Understand Changes in the Marine/Aquatic Environment
Phylogeny and Systematics of the Characeae
Starry Stonewort: Assessing the Threat of an Invasive Freshwater Macroalga in the Northeast
Kelly, Lawrence
lkelly@nybg.org
Specialty: Aristolochiaceae (Birthwort family), Symplocaceae (Sweetleaf family), Saurauia (Actinidiaceae; Kiwi family)
Current Research Projects:
Systematics of Symplocos
Lendemer, James
jlendemer@nybg.org
Specialty: Lichen Systematics
Current Research Projects:
Biodiversity Gradients in Obligate Symbiotic Organisms: A Case Study in Lichens in a Global Diversity Hotspot (NSF Dimensions)
Expansion of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium to Incorporate Newly Acquired Specimens and Improve Curation
Lichen Biodiversity of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain
Little, Damon
dlittle@nybg.org
Specialty: Gymnosperms and Bioinformatics
Current Research Projects:
DNA Barcoding of Dietary Supplements
Monographia: Open-Source Software to Automate Revisionary Systematic Studies
McAlvay, Alex
amcalvay@nybg.org
Specialty: Ethnobotany, traditional plant management, domestication, agrobiodiversity
Current Research Projects:
Brassica: Domestication, Weeds, and Evolution
Pacific Northwest Cultural Landscapes
The Shinnecock Ethnobotany Project
The Traditional Grain Mixtures Project
The Language of Land and Life: Connecting Language and Ecology in Wixárika (hch)
Michelangeli, Fabian
fabian@nybg.org
Specialty: Melastomataceae
Current Research Projects:
A phylogenomics approach to resolving one of the world’s most diverse, tropical angiosperm radiations: Melastomataceae
A Complete Web-based Monograph of the Tribe Miconieae (Melastomataceae)
Naczi, Robert
rnaczi@nybg.org
Specialty: Floristics of eastern North America, Systematics and ecology of Cyperaceae, Systematics and ecology of Sarraceniaceae
Current Research Projects:
Collaborative Research: Plants, Herbivores, and Parasitoids: A Model System for the Study of Tri-Trophic Associations
Conservation Assessment of Intertidal Vascular Plants of the Hudson River Estuary
The New Manual of Vascular Plants Project by NYBG
Westchester Wilderness Walk, Zofnass Family Preserve
Oberle, Brad
boberle@nybg.org
Specialty: Forest ecology, carbon cycling, conservation biology
Bromeliad Life History, Nutrient Cycling, and Conservation Biology
Mangrove Resilience and Restoration
Optimizing Carbon Sequestration in Constructed Forests
Urban Forests Project
Pace, Matthew
mpace@nybg.org
Specialty: New World Orchidaceae, especially Spiranthes, Platanthera, and Lepanthes; New World plant biogeography; citizen scientist inclusive orchid conservation
Current Research Projects:
Bringing Asia to Digital Life: Mobilizing Underrepresented Asian Herbarium Collections in the US to Propel Biodiversity Discovery
Securing and Sharing Biocultural Diversity Collections at The New York Botanical Garden
Plunkett, Gregory
gplunkett@nybg.org
Specialty: Araliaceae, Apiaceae, Pittosporaceae
Current Research Projects:
Evolution and Systematics of the Neotropical Clade of Schefflera (Araliaceae)
Plants and People of Vanuatu
Sanderson, Eric W.
esanderson@nybg.org
Specialty: Landscape and ecosystem ecology
Current Research Projects:
Visionmaker
Welikia
Sessa, Emily
esessa@nybg.org
Specialty: Evolution and ecology of plant diversity, Fern systematics
Current Research Projects:
Resolving a paradox of global botanical biodiversity: Why is Africa the odd man out?
Surviving a mass extinction: Lessons from the K-Pg fern spike
Understanding the effects of ploidal level on responses to global change in plants
Torke, Benjamin
btorke@nybg.org
Specialty: Leguminosae (bean family); floristics and species diversity in Amazonia
Current Research Projects:
Floristic Inventory of the Tapajos National Forest and Amazonia National Park
Legume Research at The New York Botanical Garden
Phylogenetics and taxonomy of Ormosia
A Systematic Monograph of Swartzia
Angulo, Juan
jangulo@nybg.org
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Angiosperm Systematics
Audi, Lauren
LA2376@nyu.edu
Affiliation: New York University
Specialty: Genomics of plant adaptations
Avila, Fabio Andres
favila@nybg.org
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Angiosperm Systematics
Boggess, Laura
lboggess@nybg.org
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Lichen systematics
Borsuk, Aleca
aleca.borsuk@yale.edu
Affiliation: Yale University
Specialty: Ecophysiology, leaves and photosynthesis
Dayanandan, Arun
arun.dayanandan@yale.edu
Affiliation: Yale
Specialty: Forest ecology
Flores, Manny
manny.flores@yale.edu
Affiliation: Yale University
Specialty: Tropical Plant Physiology
Gottschalk, Stephen
sgottschalk@nybg.org
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Systematics and ecology of green algae
Guzman, Sergio
sguzman@nybg.org
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Systematics of Sarraceniaceae
Johnson, Toni
tleejohnson11@gmail.com
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Ethnobotany and phytochemistry
Mercier, Kathryn
kmercier@gradcenter.cuny.edu
Affiliation: City University of New York (City College)
Specialty: Population biology and systematics of Asimina (Annonaceae)
Mwihaki, John (MJ)
jmwihaki@nybg.org
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Systematics of tree ferns
Paradiso, Lydia
lparadiso@nybg.org
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Systematics of Larix
Quinteros, Natalia
natalia.l.quinteros.c@gmail.com
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Leaf spectral signatures
Rodriguez, Amani
amanilrz@gmail.com
Affiliation: Columbia University
Specialty: Ethnobotany and agroecology
Sheban, Karam
karam.sheban@yale.edu
Affiliation: Yale University
Specialty: Climate change and food security
Sondervan, Veronica
vms351@nyu.edu
Affiliation: New York University
Specialty: Phylogenomics
Sorojsrisom, Elissa
ess2239@columbia.edu
Affiliation: Columbia University
Specialty: Evolutionary Developmental Biology
Surendra, Akshay
akshay.surendra@yale.edu
Affiliation: Yale University
Specialty: Ecology of tree distributions
Trujillo, Alma
alma.trujillomiranda@yale.edu
Affiliation: Yale University
Specialty: Conservation and sustainable management of forest ecosystems
Vardeman, Ella
evardeman@gradcenter.cuny.edu
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Medicinal ethnobotany
Verlynde, Simon
sverlynde@nybg.org
Affiliation: City University of New York
Specialty: Orchid systematics
Woodbury, David
david.woodbury@yale.edu
Affiliation: Yale
Specialty: Forest ecology
Zanghi, Marco
mzanghi55@gmail.com
Affiliation: Columbia University
Specialty: Ethnobotany and conservation
Boom, Brian
bboom@nybg.org
Specialty: Neotropical systematic and economic botany; Rubiaceae; forest inventories
Current Research Projects:
Digitization of Caribbean Plants and Fungi in The New York Botanical Garden Herbarium
New York City EcoFlora
Buck, William
bbuck@nybg.org
Specialty: Pleurocarpus mosses
Current Research Projects:
Bryoflora of Cape Horn Archipelago
North American Lichens and Bryophytes: Sensitive Indicators of Environmental Quality and Change
Halling, Roy
rhalling@nybg.org
Specialty: Agaricales and Boletales (mushrooms, puffballs and related groups)
Current Research Projects:
Bolete Mushrooms Surveys and Revisions
Expansion of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium to Incorporate Newly Acquired Specimens and Improve Curation
The Macrofungi Collection Consortium: Unlocking a Biodiversity Resource for Understanding Biotic Interactions, Nutrient Cycling and Human Affairs
Macrofungi of Costa Rica
The Microfungi Collections Consortium: A Networked Approach to Digitizing Small Fungi with Large Impacts on the Function and Health of Ecosystems
Henderson, Andrew
ahenderson@nybg.org
Specialty: Arecaeae (Palm family)
Current Research Projects:
Expansion of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium to Incorporate Newly Acquired Specimens and Improve Curation
Revision of Calamus
Palms of Vietnam
Holmgren, Noel
nholmgren@nybg.org
Specialty: Intermountain Flora; Scrophulariaceae (Beard Tongue family)
Holmgren, Patricia
pholmgren@nybg.org
Specialty: Intermountain Flora
Kallunki, Jacquelyn
jkallunki@nybg.org
Specialty: Rutaceae (Orange family)
Moran, Robbin
rmoran@nybg.org
Specialty: Pteridophytes (Ferns and related groups)
Current Research Projects:
Monographic and Phylogenetic Studies of Elaphoglossum (Dryopteridaceae)
Phylogeny of Non-flowering Plants
Taxonomic Revision and Phylogenetic Study of Campyloneurum (Polypodiaceae)
Padoch, Christine
cpadoch@nybg.org
Specialty: Traditional agriculture, agroforestry and forest management in Amazonia and Southeast Asia
Current Research Projects:
Return to Nanga Jela/Pemulai ke Nanga Jela: The Past and Present of a Sarawak Iban Community and its Diaspora
Transitions to Climate Resilient Landscapes: Reducing and Mitigating Boreal and Tropical Forest Fires to Promote Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Indonesia and the Russian Far East (with Kyoto University)
Peters, Charles
cpeters@nybg.org
Specialty: Tropical forestry and ecology
Stevenson, Dennis
dws@nybg.org
Specialty: Cycadales (Cycads)
Current Research Projects:
Collaborative Research: AVATOL – Next Generation Phenomics for the Tree of Life
CROP: Common Reference Ontologies and Applications for Plant Biology
EvoNet: A Phylogenomic and Systems Biology Approach to Identify Genes Underlying Plant Survival in Marginal, Low-Nitrogen Soils
Genomics of Comparative Seed Evolution
OPUS: A Career in Cycad Biology: An e-monograph
Phylogeography and Conservation Genetics of the Caribbean Zamia clade
1000 Plants Initiative</a
Thiers, Barbara
bthiers@nybg.org
Specialty: Hepaticae (Liverworts)
Current Research Projects:
Expansion of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium to Incorporate Newly Acquired Specimens and Improve Curation
Index Herbariorum Upgrade: A Project to Improve Access to Information about the World’s Plant and Fungal Collections Assets
The Macrofungi Collection Consortium: Unlocking a Biodiversity Resource for Understanding Biotic Interactions, Nutrient Cycling and Human Affairs
The Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis: Achieving a greater scientific understanding of our urban world
World Flora Online
Thomas, William
wthomas@nybg.org
Specialty: Cyperaceae (Sedge family), Simaroubaceae (Tree of Heaven family, and Picramniaceae (Bitter-bush Family) Flora and conservation of the Atlantic forest of northeastern Brazil
Current Research Projects:
Coastal Forest Plant Diversity in Northeastern Brazil
Dimensions US-BIOTA-São Paulo: A Multidisciplinary Framework for Biodiversity Prediction in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Hotspot
Molecular-based Plant inventory of a Megadiverse Bahian Forest
Plant Diversity in the Montane Forest of Pernambuco
Systematics of Rhynchospora (Cyperaceae)
World Flora Online