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Spring 2025 – Natural Selections: Gangothri Receives Dual Honors for Penstemon Research

Gangothri’s research on hybrid speciation in Penstemon continues to bloom! This spring, she was awarded the R.C. Lewontin Graduate Research Excellence Award from the Society for the Study of Evolution and a supplemental scholarship from the California Institute for Biodiversity. Her work is shedding light on how hybridization shapes plant evolution in California’s biodiversity hotspots—and earning well-deserved recognition along the way.

March 2025 - Sunflower Power: Omeid Wins Frank Cozza Scholarship

Omeid has received the Frank Cozza Scholarship in Plant Science for his research on plastic responses to drought in sunflowers.

Spring 2025 - Rooted in Desert Conservation: Teddy Receives Dual Conservation Grants.

Teddy’s research on Helianthus niveus—a rare dune sunflower native to California’s deserts—has truly established! They were awarded both the Southern California Botanists Conservation Grant and the Anza-Borrego Desert Conservation Grant.

January 2025 - Full Bloom: Brennan Passes PhD Qualifying Exam

We’re excited to celebrate Brennan’s successful oral qualifying exam! His work on Clarkia speciation continues to blossom, and we can’t wait to see where it leads next.

January 2025 - Farewell and Congratulations to Rebeca!

We’re sending our warmest wishes to Dr. Rebeca as she wraps up her time in the lab and begins an exciting new chapter as a faculty member at CINVESTAV-IPN in Irapuato, Mexico! While we’ll miss having her around, we’re thrilled to see her plant new roots and grow her own lab. ¡Felicidades, Rebeca!

December 2024 - Standing Tall: Congratulations to Rajesh on Passing His Oral Exam!

Rajesh has officially passed his PhD oral qualifying exam! His research on drought tolerance in Helianthus annuus continues to thrive!  

September 2024 - Growing the Team: Welcome Teddy to the Lab! 

We’re excited to welcome Teddy as a graduate student researching conservation genomics of Helianthus niveus, a rare dune sunflower species.  

June 2024 - Big Honors in Bloom: Brennan Wins Lewontin Award for Graduate Research Excellence

Brennan has been awarded the R.C. Lewontin Graduate Research Excellence Award from the Society for the Study of Evolution! This highly competitive award honors outstanding graduate research in evolutionary biology. 

June 2024 - Petals of Praise: EEOB Awards for Rajesh, Brennan, and Gangothri

Huge congratulations to Rajesh, Brennan, and Gangothri for receiving departmental awards from EEOB! These honors recognize excellence in research, service, and scholarship.

June 2024 - Bouquet of Celebration: Gangothri Wins Trio of Research Grants

During her first year, Gangothri was awarded three competitive research grants! She received funding from the American Penstemon Society, the Joshua Tree National Park grant, and the Anza-Borrego Desert Conservation Grant to support her work on hybrid speciation in Penstemon.

March 2024 – GladSlam Glory: Gangothri Advances to UCR Finals

Gangothri reached the finals of UCR’s GladSlam—a competitive campus-wide talk competition showcasing the research of graduate students from across all disciplines. Way to represent!

January 2024 - Ready to Coevolve: Welcome to the Lab, Conner!

We’re thrilled to have Conner join the lab! His research explores coevolution between grapevines and grape phylloxera across sky islands.

September 2023 - Blooming Ideas: Welcome Gangothri to the Lab!

Gangothri joined the lab in Fall 2023 as a graduate student with a passion for hybridization and plant speciation. She’s especially interested in how hybridization drives diversification in Penstemon. 

June 2023 – Going Green: Lab Earns Emerald Certification for Sustainability

We’re proud to share that the lab has been awarded Emerald Certification from Green Labs at UCR in recognition of our efforts to reduce waste, conserve energy, and promote sustainable research practices. 

May 2023 – Field-Based Futures: Danielle and Kate Win Field Science Fellowship

Danielle and Kate were awarded a Field Science Fellowship to support collaborative undergraduate-faculty research in one of the UC Natural Reserves. Their project investigates hybrid speciation in Penstemon.

September 2022 - A Budding Beginning: Welcome Rajesh and Brennan to the Lab!

Rajesh and Brennan joined the lab in 2022 and have been flourishing ever since. Rajesh’s research digs deep into drought tolerance in Helianthus, while Brennan is cultivating new insights into speciation in Clarkia.  

January 2022 - A Warm Welcome to Rebeca: Our New Postdoc!

We’re delighted to welcome Dr. Rebeca to the lab as a postdoctoral researcher! Her work will focus on molecular evolution in a pair of morning glory species—one that outcrosses and one that self-fertilizes.