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Lab Photo (+Zeke), Spring 2021 Together, Apart (Alt title: Enjoying plant evolution from home) |
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
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Laura P. Lagomarsino
Ph.D., Harvard University (2015) B.S., University of California- Berkeley (2008) I'm an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences and proud Director of the Shirley C. Tucker Herbarium at Louisiana State University. I'm also a botanist and evolutionary biologist— in that order.
Download a full version of my CV here! Find me on Google Scholar here. |
POSTDOCS
Laura A. Frost
lfrost -at- lsu.edu
Ph.D., University of Washington (2018)
B.S., University of Alabama (2012)
Laura is trained as a Neotropical biogeographer and plant systematist. She is currently working on understanding the role of ecological specialization in speciation in Costa Rican Centropogon (Campanulaceae), as well the phylogenomics of Freziera (Pentaphylacaceae) and Otoba (Myristicaceae). She is also a taxonomic expert of Citharexylum, which includes C. dentatum, which Laura (right) collected during fieldwork in the Peruvian Andes. While she enjoyed her time in the Pacific Northwest, Laura, a native of Alabama, is happy to be back in the Deep South and hopes to improve evolution education in the region during her career.
lfrost -at- lsu.edu
Ph.D., University of Washington (2018)
B.S., University of Alabama (2012)
Laura is trained as a Neotropical biogeographer and plant systematist. She is currently working on understanding the role of ecological specialization in speciation in Costa Rican Centropogon (Campanulaceae), as well the phylogenomics of Freziera (Pentaphylacaceae) and Otoba (Myristicaceae). She is also a taxonomic expert of Citharexylum, which includes C. dentatum, which Laura (right) collected during fieldwork in the Peruvian Andes. While she enjoyed her time in the Pacific Northwest, Laura, a native of Alabama, is happy to be back in the Deep South and hopes to improve evolution education in the region during her career.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
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Janet K. Mansaray
jmansa1 -at- lsu.edu B.S., Howard University (2017) Joined LagoLab: Fall 2018 Janet was the first PhD student to join the LagoLab! Janet was an undergraduate researcher in Janelle Burke's lab and then spent a year as the Flora of Pennsylvania intern at the Morris Arboretum. Janet was supported by a Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship for her first two years— Congrats, Janet! Janet's research focuses on the systematics, evolution, and taxonomy of Centropogon subgenus Centropogon. She is particularly interested role of mutualisms in driving patterns of morphological evolution. |
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Laymon Ball
lball4 -at- lsu.edu
B.S., California State University- Long Beach (2019)
Joined LagoLab: Fall 2019
Laymon decided to pursue a PhD in botany after research experience in Dr. Amanda Fisher's lab at CSULB, where she investigated phylogenetic relationships in a group of chloridoid grasses and also studied the pollination biology of chuparosa (Justiscia californica), a typically "hummingbird" flower in the deserts of southern California. In her dissertation research, Laymon will examine the patterns of morphological evolution involved in pollination shifts in a Hillia and other Hillieae (Rubiaceae), a Neotropical group of epiphytic shrubs.
lball4 -at- lsu.edu
B.S., California State University- Long Beach (2019)
Joined LagoLab: Fall 2019
Laymon decided to pursue a PhD in botany after research experience in Dr. Amanda Fisher's lab at CSULB, where she investigated phylogenetic relationships in a group of chloridoid grasses and also studied the pollination biology of chuparosa (Justiscia californica), a typically "hummingbird" flower in the deserts of southern California. In her dissertation research, Laymon will examine the patterns of morphological evolution involved in pollination shifts in a Hillia and other Hillieae (Rubiaceae), a Neotropical group of epiphytic shrubs.
Diego Paredes-Burneo
dpared1 -at- lsu.edu
B.S., Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (2010)
M.S., Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (2019)
Joined LagoLab: Fall 2019
Follow Diego on Google Scholar!
Diego is passionate about the flora of his native Peru, and is especially interested in the Andean members of Melastomataceae. For his Masters research, which resulted in multiple publications, Diego focused on taxonomy and floristic patterns within this group. For his dissertation research, Diego will infer the phylogenetic relationships of the primarily Andean genus Brachyotum (Melastomataceae) and use this phylogeny to understand the impact of Andean uplift on patterns of diversification in this group.
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Daniel A. Santamaría-Aguilar
Daniel is a broadly trained Neotropical botanist who is widely known as a "generalist" at plant identification. You give him a leaf, he can tell you what family, and often what genus, it belongs to (it's a fun party trick!). He is also interested in the floristics of his native Costa Rica, and taxonomy of various plant groups including Myristicaceae and Pentaphylacaceae. He is collaborating on various projects in the lab, though is primarily working on Otoba taxonomy. He is also a key member of the LSU Herbarium integration project.
Daniel is a broadly trained Neotropical botanist who is widely known as a "generalist" at plant identification. You give him a leaf, he can tell you what family, and often what genus, it belongs to (it's a fun party trick!). He is also interested in the floristics of his native Costa Rica, and taxonomy of various plant groups including Myristicaceae and Pentaphylacaceae. He is collaborating on various projects in the lab, though is primarily working on Otoba taxonomy. He is also a key member of the LSU Herbarium integration project.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS
Daisy Singletary, LSU
Project: Phylogenomics of Otoba
Project: Phylogenomics of Otoba
LAB ALUMNI
Ayah Ibrahim
LSU Honors Thesis Student
BS, Louisiana State University (2020)
Honors Thesis Project: Correlation between leaf morphology and environment in Centropogon subgenus Centropogon
LSU Honors Thesis Student
BS, Louisiana State University (2020)
Honors Thesis Project: Correlation between leaf morphology and environment in Centropogon subgenus Centropogon
Ricardo Romero-Gutierrez
Visiting undergraduate student (and morphometrics extraordinaire) from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City
Project: Molecular lab work of Palicourea (Rubiaceae) and morphometrics of flowers and hummingbird bills
Lauren Frankel
BS, Grinnell College (2019)
Lauren was a visiting undergraduate from Grinnell College (Iowa) and was being co-mentored by Brant Faircloth. She analyzed phylogenomic data from across the centropogonid clade, including at a phylogeographic scale among three species of Bolivian Centropogon. She was busy making the cluster whirr and winning running races around Baton Rouge during the summer of 2018! She was supported by an internship from Grinnell College. She went on to a Data Analyst with Anahí Espindola at University of Maryland, and is now a PhD student in the Botany Department at the University of Wisconsin!
Lauren was the recipient of the 2019 Undergraduate Research Prize from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists! Congrats, Lauren!
BS, Grinnell College (2019)
Lauren was a visiting undergraduate from Grinnell College (Iowa) and was being co-mentored by Brant Faircloth. She analyzed phylogenomic data from across the centropogonid clade, including at a phylogeographic scale among three species of Bolivian Centropogon. She was busy making the cluster whirr and winning running races around Baton Rouge during the summer of 2018! She was supported by an internship from Grinnell College. She went on to a Data Analyst with Anahí Espindola at University of Maryland, and is now a PhD student in the Botany Department at the University of Wisconsin!
Lauren was the recipient of the 2019 Undergraduate Research Prize from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists! Congrats, Lauren!
Henry Crull
BS, Louisiana State University (2019)
Henry generated images of pollen from herbarium specimens of Centropogon, as well as museum specimens of specialized hummingbird pollinators. He received an LSU Discover research grant to support his research. Congrats, Henry!
BS, Louisiana State University (2019)
Henry generated images of pollen from herbarium specimens of Centropogon, as well as museum specimens of specialized hummingbird pollinators. He received an LSU Discover research grant to support his research. Congrats, Henry!
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Lauren A. Eserman
Ph.D., University of Georgia, 2017 M.S., Southeastern Louisiana University, 2012 B.S., Southeastern Louisiana University, 2009 Lauren was the lab's first postdoc and was with us from August 2017–February 2018. Before moving to her current position as lab manager at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Lauren played a crucial role in setting up the lab and generating our first data— on her favorite plant group, morning glories, nonetheless! We miss her, but her legacy will live on in the lab's organization and protocols. Learn more about Lauren at her personal website! |
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