The Team

Dr Mark Watson, Head of Major Floras

I have over 30 years’ experience in floristics, plant systematics, botanical nomenclature and biodiversity informatics. My work is centred on the Sino-Himalayan region, especially Nepal, where I collaborate with international and in-country partners and local communities to generate high quality data and knowledge products to support plant conservation and the sustainable use of plant resources.

Read full bio

Dr Bhaskar Adhikari, Flora of Nepal Researcher

I have been working on the Flora of Nepal for more than 10 years. My expertise is in plant taxonomy and systematics. I am interested in using our scientific knowledge of plants to work with local communities to improve livelihoods, conserve biodiversity, and sustainably utilise natural resources.

Read full bio

Dr Alan Forrest, CMEP Researcher

My work is driven by a desire to contribute to plant species and ecosystem conservation using a variety of tools and methods. I manage a diverse portfolio of programs focusing on research into the conservation and sustainable use of plants in Soqotra, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. A certified IUCN Red List assessor and trainer, focusing on Red Listing plants in Arabia and SW Asia and integrating conservation assessments into protected areas and management planning

 

Dr Roger Hyam, Biodiversity Data Systems Developer

I have a background in botany - gaining an MSc and

Read full bio

Dr Sabina Knees, CMEP, Research Associate

Former Editor of the Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra I am a taxonomist with research interests in horticulture, plant taxonomy and plant conservation. I am a member of the Horticultural Taxonomy Group (Hortax), the IUCN SSC Arabian Plant Specialist Group and the Executive Committee of the Friends of Socotra.

Dr Barbara Mackinder, CMEP, Research Associate

My research interest is the classification and identification of Legumes. I am working on an account of the family for the Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra.

Tony Miller, CMEP, Research Associate

I was employed as a SW Asian botanist at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh from 1974 to 2017. My research focussed on floristic, taxonomic and conservation studies in SW Asia. Field work activities included: assessing the status of vegetation and threatened species, surveying biodiversity hotspots; ethnographic studies and biodiversity impact and richness assessments for landscape potential and for restoration. During these surveys I have discovered and scientifically described many species new to science. I have written numerous scientific papers, several books and contributed to many workshops and conferences

Dr Sophie Neale, Head of CMEP

I am a botanist with over 15 years of experience in the Middle East. My work currently focuses on biodiversity assessment and conservation planning as well as on regional capacity development. I am also responsible for our advisory and consultancy work.

Dr Henry Noltie, Research Associate

Henry Noltie is interested in the history of collections and the history of botany in India. His work has concentrated on the RBGE collections, especially the botanical drawings made by Indian artists for Scottish East India Company surgeons.

Read full bio

Dr Colin Pendry, Editor of Flora of Nepal

My expertise is in plant taxonomy and systematics, with a background in plant ecology. Since 2004 my primary focus has been the Flora of Nepal, for which I write accounts, as well as coordinating and editing the contributions of other authors. Previously I have worked in Latin America, South East Asia and the Caribbean, collecting plants and carrying out floristic and monographic studies.

Read full bio

Dr Alan Elliott, bioinformatician

My role is split between the World Flora Online and the Global Conservation Consortium for Rhododendron.

 

Read full bio

Claire Banks, Botanical Illustrator

Since 2009 I have worked closely with the science

Read full bio

Dr Gail Stott, CMEP Researcher

My research focuses on analysing biodiversity data

Read full bio

Dr Caroline Lehmann, Head of Tropical Diversity

I am Head of Tropical Diversity and a tropical biologist and ecologist working in savannas and grasslands across the tropics. My research focusses on the 1) the biogeography and ecology of grassy biomes; 2) plant community assembly and species coexistence related to fire, grazing and drought; 3) ecology and biogeography of C3 and C4 grasses; 4) global change and anthropogenic impacts on grassy biomes with a focus on biodiversity; 5) typology and definition of biomes and ecosystems. I am very interested in how biogeographic variation in plant functional traits can aggregate to impact the dynamics of biomes and particularly interested in understanding these patterns in an evolutionary context. History plays both a major and under-appreciated role in determining the contemporary distribution of biomes and therefore their dynamics in a changing world.

Read full bio

Dr Hannah Atkins, Gesneriaceae Researcher

Hannah Atkins is a researcher in the Tropical Diversity section interested in the taxonomy, evolution and biogeography of the SE Asian herbaceous flora.  She is currently working on Cyrtandra, the largest genus in the Gesneriaceae comprising over 800 species of rainforest herbs and shrubs.

Read full bio

Dr Mark Hughes, Taxonomy Research Leader (Southeast Asia)

Dr Mark Hughes, Taxonomy Research Leader (Southeast Asia)

Read full bio

Dr Catherine Kidner, Reader in Plant Evolution

I am interested in the genetics underlying species-level variation in plants which I study through a combination of classical genetics and the application of high throughput sequencing data (genomics, transcriptomics, hybrid capture).  I am particularly interested in developing bioinformatic approaches using hybrid capture to recover genetic data from herbarium specimens.  My group works mainly on Begonia but I also work with a range of other tropical groups including Inga.

Read full bio

Dr Michael Möller, Gesneriaceae Researcher

Dr Möller is an Evolutionary Botanist interested in unravelling evolutionary processes and the classification of plant species. He applies holistic approaches to taxonomy combining morphological and molecular data, whereby molecular phylogenetic frameworks are the cornerstone underpinning taxonomic decisions and modern classification systems. Dr Möller is also interested in linking phylogenies to infer morphological shifts and investigate the genetics underlying these developmental changes. His work focusses primarily, but not exclusively, on Old World Gesneriaceae.

Read full bio

Prof Toby Pennington, South American Biodiversity Researcher

My research has aimed to address one of the fundamental questions of tropical biology – how and when did the huge species numbers in the tropics arise? It is grounded in fundamental, descriptive taxonomic, inventory and phylogenetic research, which provides the foundation to address evolutionary and biogeographic questions of relevance to conservation in a changing world.

For more details visit http://toby-pennington.squarespace.com/ (opens in a new window)

Dr James Richardson, Tropical Biodiversity Researcher

 

 

Read full bio

Dr Louis Ronse De Craene, Director of the MSc course

Dr Louis Ronse De Craene (Doctorate Leuven, Belgium

Read full bio

Dr Tiina Sarkinen, South American Biodiversity Researcher

I am a permanent biodiversity researcher in the

Read full bio

Dr Peter Wilkie, Sapotaceae Researcher

Read full bio

Dr Mark Newman, Head of Section, Zingiberaceae Researcher

I'm a taxonomist using mainly the study of morphology within a framework of molecular systematics to describe plants in the Zingiberaceae, a family of over 50 genera and over 1,200 species including cardamom, ginger and turmeric. This work contributes to an inventory of the world's species which is far from complete. New species are being discovered in the Zingiberaceae every year and increasing numbers are threatened with extinction owing to habitat disturbance.

Read full bio

Axel Dalberg Poulsen, Zingiberaceae Researcher

Axel is a Research Associate in the Tropical Diversity Section and his work includes taxonomy, evolution, distribution patterns at all scales, ecology, and ethnobotany, especially of the family Zingiberaceae (gingers) of which he is the leading expert on the genus Etlingera. His research output includes contributions to regional floras based on a molecular phylogenetic framework and facilitates the conservation assessment of all ginger species using standard IUCN procedures.

Home page: http://dalbergpoulsen.com/ (Opens in new window)

Dr Zoë Goodwin, Postgraduate Co-ordinator

I am the Postgraduate Co-ordinator for the MSc in Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants and a tropical botanist specialising in the Neotropical flora, in particular I am interested in the savanna and dry forests of Central and South America.

Read full bio

Dr Peter Moonlight, South American Biodiversity Researcher

I am a Postdoctoral Scientist in the Tropical Biodiversity

Read full bio

Dr Kanae Nishii, Laboratory Technician, Research Associate

Kanae Nishii has interests in evolutionary development and systematics in the family Gesneriaceae, in particular the genus Streptocarpus. KN is a laboratory technician and holds research associateships in the Tropical Diversity section at RBGE and Kanagawa University in Japan, carrying out research in both institutes.

Read full bio

Sanna Olander, Conservation Assessment Officer

As a Conservation Assessment Officer at RBGE, I have the pleasure of combining my interests in botany and conservation. From January 2018 to March 2019, I am writing and facilitating IUCN Red List assessments or, in other words, assessing species risk of extinction. My focus is on two plant families as I spend two days a week working on Sapotaceae and three days on Zingiberaceae. IUCN Red List assessments are effective tools in guiding conservation efforts and prioritising areas where funds are most needed. As one of the most aknowledged ways of assessing species' conservation status, these assessments have the potential to persuade desision makers to protect taxa and reduce the loss of species diversity.

Read full bio

Jess Rickenback, PhD candidate

I am a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. My research focuses on the ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary history of high rainfall savannas.

Read full bio

Madhavi Sreenath, Sibbald Fellow

Sibbal Fellow researching Begonia taxonomy in the Western Ghats 

Read full bio

Thibauld Michel, PhD Candidate

Read full bio

Elliot Convery-Fisher, PhD Candidate

I am a PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh

Read full bio

Briggitthe Melchor Castro

I am a Peruvian botanist and researcher with MSc

Read full bio