Botanical Society of America Awards Recipients 2025
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 awards provided by the Botanical Society of America. Here we provide recognition for outstanding efforts and contributions to the science of botany. We thank you for your support of these programs. |
Award winners will be added below as they become available.
Awards for Established Scientists |
Donald R. Kaplan Memorial Lecture
Dr. Pamela Diggle, University of Connecticut
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Awards for Early Career Scientists |
BSA Public Policy Award The Public Policy Award was established in 2012 to support the development of of tomorrow's leaders and get a better understanding of this critical area.
Rina Talaba, Chicago Botanic Gardens and Northwestern University
Katherine Wolcott, University of Miami
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SPECIAL AWARDS
Outgoing BSA President
Jenny Xiang
Outgoing BSA Student Representative to the Board
Josh Felton
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Donald R. Kaplan Dissertation Award in Comparative Morphology This award was created to promote research in plant comparative morphology. The Kaplan family has established an endowed fund, administered through the Botanical Society of America, to support the Ph.D. research of graduate students in this area.
Oluwatobi Oso, Yale University, for the Proposal: Comparative Morphology of Leaf Development: Bud Packing and Cellular Mechanisms Driving Evolution Across Latitudinal Gradients.
HONORABLE MENTION: Christopher Joaquín Muñoz, The University of Texas at El Paso, for the Proposal: Trait Evolution in Hebecarpa (Polygalaceae).
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The BSA Undergraduate Student Research Awards The BSA Undergraduate Student Research Awards support undergraduate student research and are made on the basis of research proposals and letters of recommendation.
Andrew Conlon, Emory University, For the Proposal: Determining Selective Cytotoxic and Antibiotic Properties of Teucrium flavum L. for Public Safety and Medical Advancement. Co-authors: Dr. Cassandra Quave, Dr. Tharanga Samarakoon, Nadia Aziz, Marco Caputo
Lena Kadau, University of South Carolina, For the Proposal: Seed Mucilage Trait Evolution Across Populations and Species of Linum.
Will Pearce, University of Utah, For the Proposal: Intraspecific Variation and Species Boundaries of the Desert Gooseberries (Ribes series microphylla). Co-author: Dr. Rodolfo Probst
Alex Risdal, Loyola University Chicago, For the Proposal: Habitat Evaluation and Species Distribution Modeling for Michigan’s Bladderworts (Utricularia spp.). Co-authors: Dr. Brian Ohsowski, Dr. Mike Grillo, Shane Lishawa
Nicole Stark, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, For the Proposal: Uncovering the Origin and Genomic Mechanism of Dioecy in the Family Fabaceae.
Brooke C. Tillotson, SUNY Cortland, For the Proposal: Investigating the correlation between homeolog bias and differences in phenotype and pigment composition in Nicotiana quadrivalvis and N. clevelandii allopolyploids.
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Vernon I. Cheadle Student Travel Awards (BSA in association with the Developmental and Structural Section)
This award was named in honor of the memory and work of Dr. Vernon I. Cheadle.
Andrea Appleton, Harvard University, Advisor: Elena Kramer, For the Presentation: Morphological and developmental novelties within the intricate androecium of Loasaceae
Jaxon Reiter, University of Lethbridge, Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Schultz, For the Presentations: “Alles ist Blatt ” — The Role of Auxin in Gynoecium Development: Insights from Leaf Patterning Genes and Ovule Defects in Arabidopsis thaliana PIN Localization Pathway Mutants Lead to Reduced Seed Set
Niall Whalen, Florida State University, Advisor: Gregory Erickson, For the Presentation: Phytolith Morphological Diversity Across the Gymnosperm Phylogeny—Implications for Phytolith Evolution and Their Paleobotanical Applications
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The BSA Student and PostDoc Travel Awards Winners were selected by lottery
Dan J. Coles
Amadeu dos Santos-Neto
Vandana Gurung
Kiona A. Leeman
Whitney Murchison-Kastner
Kasey K. Pham
Mia Stevens
Marisa Blake Szubryt
Yannick Woudstra
Matthew Yamamoto
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Awards for Students - Given by the Sections
Student Presentation and Poster Awards
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Southeastern Section Student Presentation Awards The following winners were selected from the Association of Southeastern Biologists meeting that took place at the end of March, 2024.
Southeastern Section Paper Presentation Award Daniel Stanton, UF IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center
Southeastern Section Poster Presentation Award Annabelle Mayes, Georgia Southern University
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Bryological and Lichenological Section Student Travel Awards
Jeremy Howland, City University of New York, Advisor: James Lendemer, For the Presentation: Karinomyces (Pilocarpaceae), a new genus for the Appalachian endemic Schadonia saulskelleyana supported by molecular and phenotypic data
Zoe Ryan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Advisor: Ken Cameron, For the Presentation: Open-source software integration: A tutorial on species distribution mapping and ecological niche modeling
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Developmental & Structural Section Student Travel Awards
Sarita Munoz-Gomez, Auburn University; Advisor: Daniel S. Jones; For the Presentation: Dioecy and sex determination across the development of the dioecious genus Baccharis (Asteraceae)
Austin Nguyen, University of Kansas; Advisor: Kelly Matsunaga; For the Presentation: Duplication and subfunctionalization of AGAMOUS genes in the cypress family (Cupressaceae)
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Genetics Section Student Travel Awards
Seongyeon Kang, University of Arizona, Advisor: Michael S. Barker, For the Presentation: Inferring ancient tetraploidy and hexaploidy using a machine learning approach
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Pteridological Section & American Fern Society Student Travel Awards
Max Botz, University of Minnesota Duluth, Advisor: Amanda Grusz, For the Presentation: Does abiotic environment shape patterns of polyploidy and reproductive mode in ferns?
Dusty Prater, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Advisor: Jacob S. Suissa, For the Presentation: Putting ferns on the map: global patterns of wide-ranging fern species
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Systematics Section Student Travel Awards
Mahima Dixit – Claremont Graduate University/California Botanic Garden
Jared Meek – Columbia University
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