The Genetics Section will be providing 1 $500 travel awards to students that submit an abstract to the Genetics Section at the BOTANY 2025 - Botany without Barriers conference in Tucson, Arizona July 26-30. The purpose of these awards is to support students' attendance and their presentations at the conference.
Applications will open again in early 2025.
Instructions for applying will be posted at that time.
Award Recipients:
2024
Bibek Adhikari, South Dakota State University, Advisor: Dr. Madhav Nepal, For the Presentation: Chloroplast Phylogenomics Supports Monophyly of Genus Morus. Co-authors: Sanam Parajuli, Madhav Nepal
2023
Samantha Drewry, University of Memphis, Advisor: Jennifer Mandel, For the Presentation: Conservation genetics in the endangered whorled sunflower Helianthus verticillatus (Asteraceae).
Elizabeth Uzezi Okinedo, University of Massachusetts Boston, Advisor: Brook Moyers, For the Presentation: Pleiotropy and adaptation in the silverleaf sunflower, Helianthus argophyllus.
2022
Gracy Buckholtz, University of British Columbia, Advisor: Jeannette Whitton, For the Presentation: "Tracking a Cryptic Invader: The Morphology and Genetics of Fraser River Estuary Cattails."
Talieh Ostovar, San Diego State University, Advisor: Amy Litt, For the Presentation: "Impacts of allopolyploidy on gene expression in Nicotiana section Repandae." Co-authors: Jacob Landis, Elizabeth McCarthy, Jason Stajich, Elizabeth Waters, Amy Litt
Connor L. Purvis, Francis Marion University, Advisor: Jeremy Rentsch, For the Presentation: "Regulation of the Dhurrin Biosynthetic Pathway in Sorghum halepense seedlings." Co-authors: Jeremy Rentsch, Elizabeth Jones
Alyson Van Natto, Queen's University, Advisor: Jannice Friedman, For the Presentation: "Mating system and hybridization combine to effect range-wide genetic structure in a coastal endemic plant." Co-author: Chris Eckert
2021
No Awards Given in 2022
2020
No Awards Given in 2020
2019
Alan Yocca, Michigan State University, Advisor: Patrick Edger, For the Presentation: "Species level variation in Conserved Non-coding Sequences" Co-authors: Zefu Lu, Bob Schmitz, Patrick Edger
2018
Yi Huang, University of California-Riverside, Advisor: Dr. Amy Litt, For the Presentation: "Genetic Variation and habitat differentiation in a group of taxonomically difficult plants: Arctostaphylos glandulosa (Ericaceae)" Co-authors: Glen Morrison, Andrew Sanders, Natalie Saavedra, Dylan Burge, Thomas Parker, John Keeley, Amy Litt
Shujun Ou, Michigan State University, Advisor: Dr. Ning Jiang, For the Presentation: "The genomic composition and domestication of Asian rice revealed by 3,400 rice genomes" Co-author: Ning Jiang
Serena Macias, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Advisor: Dr. Christine Edwards, For the Presentation: "Phylogenomics of Passiflora sect. Decaloba reveals strong biographic structuring of clades" Co-authors: Christine Edwards, John MacDougal
Kali Mattingly, The Ohio State University, Advisor: Dr. Steve Hovick, For the Presentation: "Assessing the extent of hybridization between the invasive species Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) and the horticultural species L. virgatum" Co-author: Steve Hovick
2017
Matthew Haynsen, George Washington University, for the Botany 2017 presentation: "Population Genetic Analysis of Invasive Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) throughout Asia and the United States" Co-authors: Mohammad Vatanparast, Liu Luxian, Fu Cheng-Xin, Keith A. Crandall and Ashley N. Egan
Aniket Sengupta, Kansas University, for the Botany 2017 presentation: "Searching for more: Antirrhinum corolla symmetry genetic network in carpel development" Co-author: Lena Hileman
2016
Adam Ramsay, University of Memphis - Advisor, Dr. Jennifer R Mandel - for the Botany 2016 presentation: "Patterns of cyto-nuclear disequilibrium and the influence of heteroplasmy in wild carrot, Daucus carota (Apiaceae)" Co-author: Jennifer R Mandel
Charles Foster, University of Sydney - Advisor, Dr. Simon Ho - for the Botany 2016 presentation: "Evaluating the impact of genomic data and priors on Bayesian estimates of the angiosperm evolutionary timescale" Co-authors: Herve Sauquet, Marlien van der Merwe, Hannah McPherson, Maurizio Rossetto and Simon Ho
Monica Warner, California State University, California State University, Dominguez Hills - Advisor, Dr. Kathryn E. Theiss - for the Botany 2016 presentation: "Evaluating species differentiation in endangered rush lillies using population genetics" Co-authors: Kathryn Theiss and Susan Kephart
2015
Hanna Dorman, Mississippi State University - Advisor, Dr. Lisa Wallace - for the Botany 2015 presentation: "Genetic Structure of Rhizobia Associated with Chamaecrista fasciculata" Co-author: Lisa Wallace<
Jacob Landis, University of Florida - Advisor, Dr. Pamela Soltis - for the Botany 2015 presentation: "Investigating the genetic underpinnings of corolla cell size and shape differences in Saltugilia (Polemoniaceae)" Co-author: Rebecca O'Toole, Kayla Ventura, Douglas Soltis and Pamela Soltis
Brandon Sinn, Ohio State University - Advisor, Dr. John V. Freudenstein - for the Botany 2015 presentation: "Structural and Syntenic Variability in Asaraceae Plastomes: A phylogenetic perspective" Co-authors: Dylan Sedmak, Kelly Lawrence and John Freudenstein
2014
Heather Dame, University of Ottawa - for the Botany 2014 presentation: "Phylogeny of the paraphyletic Fuireneae (Cyperaceae)" Co-authors: Anna K. Monfils, Derek R. Shiels, Julian Starr, David Pozo, Adriane L. Shorkey and Elizabeth R. Schick
Robert Massatti, University of Michigan - for the Botany 2014 presentation: "Microhabitat differences impact phylogeographic concordance of co-distributed species: genomic evidence in montane sedges (Carex L.) from the Rocky Mountains" Co-author: Lacey Knowles
Rosa Rodriguez, Florida International University - for the Botany 2014 presentation: "Genetic structure, diversity, and differentiation of Pseudophoenix (Arecaceae) in Hispaniola" Co-authors: Brett Jestrow, Teodoro Clase, Francisco Jimenez, Alan Meerow, Eugenio Valentin Santiago, Jose Sustache, Patrick Griffith and Javier Francisco-Ortega
2013
Daniel Gates, University of Nebraska - Advisor, Dr. Stacey Smith, for the paper “Anthocyanin regulating MYB transcription factor evolution in four Solanaceous species” Co-author: Stacey Smith
Christine McAllister, Saint Louis University - Advisor, Dr. Allison Miller, for the paper “Environmental Correlates of Cytotype Diversity in Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)” Co-authors: Russell Blaine, Paul Kron, Brent Bennett, Anna Glotzbach, Jennifer Kidson, Heidi Garrett, Blanda Matzenbacher and Allison Miller
2012
Michael McKain, University of Georgia - Advisor, Dr. Jim Leebens-Mack, for the paper “The effect of paleopolyploidy on genome evolution in Agavoideae” Co-authors: Norman Wickett, Yeting Zhang, Saravanaraj Ayyampalayam, Richard McCombie, Mark Chase, Joseph Pires, Claude dePamphilis and Jim Leebens-Mack
Travis Lawrence, CSU Sacramento - Advisor, Dr. Shannon Datwyler, for the paper “Testing the hypothesis of allopolyploidy in the origin of Penstemon azureus (Plantaginaceae)” Co-author: Shannon Datwyler
2011
Ari Novy, Rutgers University - Advisor, Dr. Jean Marie Hartman - Botany 2011 presentation: "Genetic Variation of Spartina alterniflora Loisel. in the New York Metropolitan Area and Its Relevance for Marsh Restoration." Co-authors, Peter E. Smouse, Jean Marie Hartman, Lena Struwe, Joshua Honig, Chris Miller, and Stacy Bonos
Sean Ryan, San Diego State University - Advisor, Dr. Michael G. Simpson - Botany 2011 presentation: "Molecular Phylogenetic Relationships and Character Evolution of Fritillaria subgenus Liliorhiza." Co-author, Michael G. Simpson
2009
Susann Wicke, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria - Advisor, Dr. Dietmar Quandt & Dr. Gerald Schneeweiss - Botany & Mycology 2009 presentation: "From the exception to the rule: the re-arrangement(s) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA in land plants.."
2008
Aaron Duffy, Utah State University, Logan, UT - Advisor, Dr. Paul G. Wolf - Botany 2008 presentation: "Conservation of selection on matK in ferns following an ancient loss of the trnK intron by genome inversion."
