Julián Aguirre-Santoro

Julián Aguirre-Santoro

Assistant Curator of Vascular Plants, Latin America Herbarium, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest:  Plant systematics and floristics

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Colombia, Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Suriname, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts

Wendy Applequist

Wendy Applequist

Associate Scientist, William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject of interest: Plant taxonomy, medicinal plants, natural product discovery

Primary geographic interest: United States, Madagascar

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest ,Savanna, Shrubland

David Bogler

David Bogler

Research Associate, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant systematics, floristics, molecular systematics, anatomy, microscopy, ecology, sustainability, palynology, teaching

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: USA, Mexico

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest:  Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas

John Brinda

John Brinda

Assistant Scientist, Herbarium, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject of interest: Ecology, taxonomy, and conservation of bryophytes

Primary geographic area of interest: USA, Madagascar, Philippines

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts

Tom Croat

Tom Croat

P.A. Schulze Curator of Botany, Latin America, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest: Systematics and Ecology of Araceae; Phenology of flowering and fruiting in tropical ecosystems

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Neotropics

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest ,Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land

Karen DeMatteo

Karen DeMatteo

Research Affiliate, WildCare Institute at the Saint Louis Zoo / Academic Advisor, Biology Department, WashU / Conservation Detection Dog Handler/Trainer, A K9 Nose Knows

Primary subject(s) of interest: Ecology, conservation, and management of predator-prey species using noninvasive techniques

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: United States (South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Nebraska, and San Francisco), South America (Argentina), & Asia (Bhutan)

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Monocultural plantations & fragmented ecosystems

Aimee Dunlap

Aimee Dunlap

Associate Professor, Biology Department, University of Missouri-Saint Louis

Primary subject(s) of interest: Cognitive, behavioral, and urban ecology, mechanisms of decision making, pollination and foraging in bees and flies

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Zoos

Kasey Fowler-Finn

Kasey Fowler-Finn

Associate Professor of Biology, Saint Louis University

Primary subject(s) of interest:  Evolutionary ecology, behavioral ecology, vibrational communication, biotremology, climate change, evolution of complex traits, animal communication

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Saint Louis, Eastern North America

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Roy Gereau

Roy Gereau

Assistant Curator and Tanzania Program Director, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest:  Floristics, plant taxonomy, and plant conservation

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Tanzania

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Urban areas

Robbie Hart

Robbie Hart

Director, William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest: Climate change impacts on plant ecology and human environmental knowledge systems; ethnobotany; montane and alpine; Madagascar; community-based conservation; food plants

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Himalaya; Hengduan/Mountains of Southwest China; Pacific Northwest; Madagascar

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land

LEC Projects

LEC Seed Grant Projects

Julie Hartell-DeNardo

Julie Hartell-DeNardo

Kevin Beckmann Curator of Carnivores and WildCare Center for Polar Bear Conservation Director, Saint Louis Zoo

Primary subject(s) of interest: Carnivore conservation, Carnidae, Felidae, Ursidae, Canidea, Pinnipedia

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Africa (Namibia, Somaliland, Tanzania, Kenya), Alaska

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Marine, Agricultural land

Nathan Jacobs

Nathan Jacobs

Professor, Computer Science & Engineering, WashU

Primary subject(s) of interest:  Computer Vision, Remote Sensing, Species Distribution Modeling

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Nisa Karimi

Nisa Karimi

Assistant Scientist, Science and Conservation Division, Africa and Madagascar Program, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest: Plant ecology & evolution, pollination biology, conservation

Primary geographic area(s) of interest:  Madagascar, Tanzania, South Africa

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts

Andreas (Andi) Kautt

Andreas (Andi) Kautt

Assistant Professor, Biology Department, WashU

Primary subject(s) of interest: Evolutionary Genomics, Adaptation & Speciation, Animal Behavior

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Freshwater

Liz Mallott

Liz Mallott

Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, WashU

Primary subject(s) of interest:  human and nonhuman primates, gut microbiome, host-microbe interactions, molecular and microbial ecology

Primary geographic area(s) of interest:  United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Asia

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Urban Areas

Travis  Mossotti

Travis Mossotti

Assistant Director IT Research Systems, WashU

Primary subject(s) of interest: Poetry & Environmental Stewardship; Interdisciplinary Conservation Programming; Language of Conservation

Primary geographic interest: United States

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Freshwater, Marine, Deserts, Urban areas

Nezka Pfeifer

Nezka Pfeifer

Museum Curator, Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest: Museum studies, museum exhibitions, history, contemporary art, anthropology, conservation

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: All

Amy Pool

Amy Pool

Curatorial Assistant, Latin America, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest:  Floristics, sharing science, the importance of biodiversity and conservation, and the significance of global climate change with the local public, plant taxonomy, natural history collections use and curation

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Central America

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Agricultural land, Collection-based

Thomas (Cody) Prang

Thomas (Cody) Prang

Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, WashU

Primary subject(s) of interest: Paleoanthroplogy, functional morphology, bipedalism

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Africa, Asia, Europe

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland

Odean Serrano

Odean Serrano

Founder, Countering Wildlife Trafficking Institute

Primary subject(s) of interest: Environmental Security, Transnational Threats, Intelligence Fusion Analytics

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global, Central African Republic, Madagascar, United States, Mali*, Burkina Faso (*Support research remotely from US)

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Freshwater, Marine, Caves and subterranean habitats, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas

Adam Smith

Adam Smith

Scientist in Global Change & Conservation, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest: Conservation biogeography and global change, using statistical models of populations, species, and ecosystems

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Global

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land

LEC Seed Grant Projects

Charlotte M. Taylor

Charlotte M. Taylor

Senior Curator, Monographic Studies, Latin America, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest: Neotropical Floristics and Biogeography, Taxonomy and Systematics of Rubiaceae

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Mexico, Central America, Antilles, tropical South America, Madagascar

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forests, Savanna, Shrubland

Tad Yankoski

Tad Yankoski

Senior Entomologist, Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest:  Insect biodiversity and conservation, citizen science, insect husbandry

Primary geographic area(s) of interest:  Global, with a focus on animals of the tropics (Costa Rica) and USA (Missouri)

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland, Deserts, Agricultural land, Urban areas, Zoos

Li-Bing Zhang

Li-Bing Zhang

Curator, Missouri Botanical Garden

Primary subject(s) of interest: Taxonomy, phylogeny, and evolution of ferns and lycophytes

Primary geographic area(s) of interest: Old World/Global

Habitats and Ecosystems of interest: Forest, Shrubland, Grassland, Caves and subterranean habitats