Victoria Martinez Mercado
Graduate Student
Northwestern University / Chicago Botanic Garden
Plant Biology and Conservation
Posted 6-20-25

Holding the first bloom of a Dutchman’s pipe (Aristolochiaceae) from my backyard.

I previously worked on the phylogenomics and biogeography of Astragalus, the largest genus of flowering plants. Now, as a first year PhD student at Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden working with Dr. Suzy Strickler, I’m focusing on Asimina triloba (pawpaw), a unique temperate member of the tropical Annonaceae family and the largest edible fruit native to North America. Because pawpaw produces recalcitrant seeds that can’t be traditionally seed banked, I’m interested in developing pollen preservation protocols as an alternative conservation strategy. This work will combine metabolomics, transcriptomics, and in vitro germination trials to better understand reproductive biology and support long-term conservation of this under-studied species.

Dr. Redway and I on our field trip to Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens in 2022.

How Victoria got interested in the botanical sciences:

I grew up in Mexico, and from a young age my parents made the outdoors a regular part of our lives. We spent a lot of time in parks and natural areas, and even though I didn’t always love the sporty activities involved, I always loved being outside and had constantly scraped knees to show it. Looking back, I realize how much that time shaped me. My dad, especially, had a deep admiration for wildlife. I remember how excited he’d get when he spotted a bird or brought spiders home. I didn’t have the words for it at the time, but I think his curiosity planted something in me early on, a quiet kind of reverence for the natural world.
Still, I didn’t see myself ending up in the botanical sciences until a few years into college. I started at Barry University as a Mathematics student because I always liked the logic of math and how it just made sense. But eventually, I started to feel like it was a little too black and white. That kind of thinking works really well for some people, but it wasn’t feeding my curiosity in the way I hoped it would.

Everything shifted after I volunteered for a two-week trip to Adrian, Michigan. That’s where I was introduced to gardening and, more specifically, permaculture: ways of working with nature to address things like pests, low yield, and soil health, all of which require a deep understanding of biology. I was mesmerized and came back with a new spark and a clear sense that this was what I wanted to pursue. I added Biology as a second major later that year, and that completely changed my path.

There was one professor who really changed things for me: Dr. Flona Redway, who taught Botany. She gave me what I jokingly call “plant 20/20 vision.” I went from seeing all plants as basically the same to suddenly noticing differences in shape, color, strategy, and structure. It was mind-blowing. And it was one of those things where the more I learned, the more I realized I didn’t know. It became this endless rabbit hole of curiosity that I was, and still am, happy to dive into.

Around the same time, I got involved in research, first at Barry, and then through two REUs (NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates): one at the Cary Institute with Emma Rosi, and a later one at the University of Iowa with Andrew Forbes. Those experiences were everything. They gave me the tools to think like a scientist, but more than that, they helped me find a community where I finally felt like I fit in. I didn’t have to tone down my excitement or my nerdiness. It was just the norm, and it felt really good.

Since then, I’ve been incredibly lucky to keep learning from amazing people. During my Master’s at Loyola University Chicago, and during a summer at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History working on a phylogenetic project, I kept finding new mentors and collaborators who shaped how I think and work. All of it: the classes, the research, and the community confirmed that this is where I want to be. The botany world is full of thoughtful, generous, curious people, and I feel really lucky to be part of it.

Fieldwork with family support: collecting Astragalus in Rancho Cucamonga,
CA, with help from my sister (an accountant by trade, botanist by spirit).

Victoria's advice for those just starting their botanical journey:

Don’t lose sight of why you started. Even in challenging times, doing work you genuinely care about is something you won’t regret. On the hardest days, stepping outside, taking a breath, and reconnecting with the plants or places that first inspired you can help you reset. Let yourself slow down when you need to, and trust that your passion is a powerful guide.

 

Victoria's other passions:

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