We are pleased to announce the 2016 Graduate Student Research Grant (GSRG) awards. The ASPT Honors and Awards committee received 65 highly competitive proposals of which 24 were selected for funding. Each proposal was reviewed by panel of three impartial referees using a standardized rubric; referees were drawn from a pool of 18 ASPT member-volunteers. The Committee was careful to avoid any conflicts-of-interest in the review and award process. Scores from the external reviews were tallied and the twenty-four (37%) top-ranked proposals were selected for grants based on overall availability of funds. The four highest ranked proposals were awarded with support from the named research grant funds; the remaining 20 were awarded with support from the general research grant fund.
ASPT Named Graduate Student Research Grants ($1000)
Shirley and Alan Graham Graduate Student Research Grant
Nathan Hartley, Duke University. Ph.D. project, “Diversification of a neotropical litter-trapping epiphyte clade (Anthurium section Pachyneurium): a preliminary assessment of phylogenetic niche conservatism” Advisor: Dr. Paul Manos.
W. Hardy Eshbaugh Graduate Student Research Grant
Maria Adolfina Savoretti, Instituto de Bontanica Darwinion. Ph.D. project, “Systematic affinities of Early Cretaceous mosses of western North America – an inquiry into the deep history of bryophytes” Advisors: Drs. Fernando Omar Zuloaga and Juan Federico Ponce.
William R. Anderson Graduate Student Research Grant
Ernesto Sanz Sancho, Tennessee Technological University, Ph.D. project, “Phylogenetic study of Passiflora supersection Disemma section Disemma (Passifloraceae)” Advisor: Dr. Shawn Krosnick.
Rogers McVaugh Graduate Student Research Grant
Ian Gilman, University of Idaho. M.S. project, “How niche breadth affects diversification: phylogeography in Castillejineae.” Advisor: Dr. David Tank.
Recipients of an ASPT Graduate Student Research Grant ($750) in alphabetical order.
Ana María Bedoya Ovalle, University of Washington, Ph.D. project, "Andean uplift and the transformation of aquatic ecosystems: Impacts on the evolutionary patterns in aquatic plants of northern South America." Advisor: Dr. Richard Olmstead.
Joyce Chery, University of California Berkeley, Ph.D. project, "Systematics of Paullinieae (Sapindaceae) and the evolution of vascular cambial variants in a large tribe of neotropical lianas." Advisor: Chelsea Specht.
Dylan Cohen, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Ph.D. project, "Elucidating species relationships, biogeography, and floral evolution within the Andean Loasa s.l. using Next-Gen approaches." Advisor: Dr. Lucinda McDade.
Benjamin Cooper, Northwestern University/Chicago Botanic Garden, M.S. project, "Phylogenomic resolution of Oenothera sect. Calylophus (Onagraceae) using Target Enrichment and coalescent-based methods." Advisor: Dr. Krissa Skogen.
Jenna Dorey, New York Botanical Garden, Ph.D. project, "Reconstructing the evolutionary history of an Asian-North American disjunction in sedges Carex (Cyperaceae)." Advisor: Dr. Robert Naczi.
Susan Fawcett, University of Vermont, Ph.D. project, "Assessing the role of adaptation in the evolutionary radiation of a Caribbean fern lineage." Advisor: David Barrington.
Gabriel Emiliano Ferreira, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Ph.D. project, "Systematics and biogeographic history of Besleria L. (Gesneriaceae)." Advisors: Drs. Michael Hopkins, Alain Chautems, and Mathieu Perret.
Luiz Henrique Martins Fonseca, Universidade de São Paulo, Ph.D. project, Systematics, Phylogeny and Diversification of Adenocalymma (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae)." Advisor: Dr. Lúcia Lohmann.
Julia Harenčár, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, M.S. project, "A population genetics approach to phylogeny clarification." Advisor: Dr. Jenn Yost.
Cody Howard, University of Florida, Ph.D. project, "Closing the Rift: Investigating the Evolutionary History of the Ledebouriinae (Scilloideae, Asparagaceae)." Advisor: Nico Cellinese.
Johanna Jantzen, University of Florida, Ph.D. project, "Diversification in a Neotropical Hotspot: a Case Study in Vellozia." Advisor: Dr. Pam Soltis.
Tzu-Tong Kao, Duke University, Ph.D. project, "Nuclear phylogeny of the drought-adapted and desiccation-tolerant notholaenid fern clade (Pteridaceae)." Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Pryer.
Jun Ying Lim, University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D. project, "The biogeography, ecology and evolution of Hawaiian Peperomia." Advisors: Drs. Charles Marshall and Rosemary Gillespie.
Anthony E. Melton, University of Florida, Ph.D. project, "Liatris (Asteraceae): A Model for Elucidating Patterns of Niche Divergence." Advisors: Drs. Doug Soltis and Pam Soltis.
Andre A. Naranjo, University of Florida, Ph.D. project, "The Comparative Phylogeography of Eastern North American Wetland Forest Trees." Advisor: Dr. Pam Soltis.
Brian Park, Yale University, Ph.D. project, "The phylogeography and demographic history of the hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides)." Advisor: Dr. Michael Donoghue.
Jennifer Rodriguez, California State University, Los Angeles, M.S. project, "Molecular Phylogeny and Biogeography of Series Chinensis (Iridaceae)." Advisor: Dr. Lucinda McDade.
V. Nipuni Shalika Sirimalwatta, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Ph.D. project, "Phylogeny, Evolution, and Biogeography of the genera Radiogrammitis Parris and Oreogrammitis Copel. (Polypodiaceae)." Advisor: Dr. Cliff Morden.
Katelin Stanley, Florida State University, Ph.D. project, "A Comparative Anchor for Anchored Phylogenomics: Systematic Discovery of Elephantopodinae (Asteraceae) from within the "Evil Tribe"." Advisor: Austin Mast.
Dawson Martin White, University of Illinois at Chicago, Ph.D. project, "Unlocking herbarium genetic resources with target-capture NGS sequencing." Advisor: Dr. Roberta Mason-Gamer.