Mark Fishbein

Mark Fishbein serves as Regents Professor and Head of the Department of Plant Biology, Ecology and Evolution at Oklahoma State University, concurrently directing the Oklahoma State University Herbarium. He joined OSU in 2009 as an assistant professor after prior faculty appointments at Mississippi State University and Portland State University.

His academic credentials include a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona, and post-doctoral training at Washington State University and the University of Idaho.

Dr. Fishbein's research centers on plant evolutionary processes, specializing in milkweed-insect coevolution where he examines genomic adaptations in plant defenses (toxins, latex, waxes) against herbivores like monarch butterflies. As a globally recognized milkweed taxonomy expert, he pioneers genomic and bioinformatic methodologies while leading initiatives to digitize natural history collections for research and education.

He has served as president of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and associate editor of Systematic Biology, with over 67 peer-reviewed publications including co-editing "Gentry’s Río Mayo Plants: The Tropical Deciduous Forest and Environs of Northwest Mexico".

As Herbarium Director, he oversees specimen curation and digital mobilization efforts, highlighted by outreach projects like "In Defense of Plants: The Magnificence of Milkweeds" and "Digitizing Herbariums for Future Historians" to advance biodiversity education.