Jay Horn

Jay Horn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). His research focuses on molecular phylogenetics, evolution, and floristic diversity of flowering plants, particularly in the southeastern United States. He holds a Ph.D. in Botany from Duke University (2005), an M.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina (1997), and a B.S. in Plant Biology from Cornell University (1995). He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (2009–2015).

His teaching responsibilities include courses in Genetics (PCB 3063C), Scientific Process (ISC 3120C), General Biology (BSC 1010C), and Flora of Southwest Florida (BOT 3153). His research group investigates the molecular phylogeny of Stillingia (Euphorbiaceae) to clarify species boundaries and evolutionary history in the southeastern U.S.

Horn’s work spans plant evolution, systematics, and biodiversity, with a focus on Euphorbia and other understudied taxa. His peer-reviewed publications explore topics like medicinal plant evolution, photosynthetic pathway adaptation, and floral development in Hawaiian endemics. He has contributed to taxonomic revisions and morphological analyses of plant families such as Dilleniaceae and Sphaerosepalaceae.