Current Appointments & Affiliations
Professor Emeritus of Biology
·
2025 - Present
Biology,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
·
2017 - Present
Duke Science & Society,
University Initiatives & Academic Support Units
Recent Publications
Boechera sierraensis: a newly discovered apomictic species from the Sierra Nevada with exceptional stress tolerance
Journal Article Plant Systematics and Evolution · April 1, 2026 This study introduces a new species, Boechera sierraensis, recently discovered in the Sierra Nevada of California. Previous research has shown that this taxon possesses exceptional tolerance to environmental stressors, including heat, drought, and high lig ... Full text CiteMicrosatellite, Hyb-Seq, and morphological studies confirm the enigmatic mustard Boechera tiehmii as an intergeneric hybrid.
Journal Article American journal of botany · December 2025 PremiseThe mustard genus Boechera (Brassicaceae) is notorious for rampant intra- and interclade hybridization, which has produced a complex reticulate network of apomictic diploid, triploid, and tetraploid hybrids. A recent hypothesis suggested th ... Full text CiteComparative phylogenetic analyses of RNA editing in fern plastomes suggest possible adaptive innovations.
Journal Article The New phytologist · September 2025 RNA editing in plant organelles is widely regarded as a neutral corrective mechanism, yet it persists as a complex, energetically costly process, requiring numerous nuclear-encoded pentatricopeptide repeat proteins. Ferns are the most diverse lineage of la ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Digitization TCN: Collaborative Research: The Pteridological Collections Consortium: An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years
ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · 2018 - 2022DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolution and Function of Farina in the Desiccation-tolerant Notholaenid Ferns (Pteridaceae)
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2017 - 2022Oceans Apart: Assessing the roles of Vicariance and Long-distance Dispersal in the Widely Disjunct Fern Genus Cheilanthes (Pteridaceae)
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Geographic Society · 2019 - 2019View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
Duke University ·
1995
Ph.D.
University of Guelph (Canada) ·
1981
M.S.
McGill University (Canada) ·
1976
B.S.