Phylogentic Systematics of Valerianaceae
I am currently working on a complete taxon sampled (~350 sp) phylogeny of Valerianaceae.
In collaboration with several other researchers, I am compiling a world-wide species list for Valerianaceae. Once a good estimate of the number of species that are out there, we will attempt to collect sequence data for all of them. As of today, about 100 species (a little less than a third) have been collected and sequenced for a variety of molecular markers. A completely sampled phylogeny will allow me to answer several intriguing questions concerning character evolution and biogeography
Preliminary results suggest that many of the traditionally recognized taxa are not monophyletic (see publications). Hopefully, when all is said and done, this research will lead to a world-wide taxonomic revision of Valerianaceae
I am an evolutionary biologist interested in phylogenetics, plant systematics, divergence time estimation, and biogeography