معرفی
Dr. Kelly Matsunaga is the Thomas N. Taylor Assistant Professor and Assistant Curator in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas, part of the Biodiversity Institute. Her research focuses on plant evolution, phylogeny, and diversity through integrative approaches combining paleobotany, histology, X-ray tomography, and phylogenetics. She investigates how plant form and diversity have evolved over time, particularly in groups like conifers, palms, and lycophytes, using both living and fossil specimens.
Education:
- Botany, Humboldt State University, 2012
- Biology, Humboldt State University, 2014
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 2019
Research Interests: Her work bridges paleobotany and modern plant biology, emphasizing the complementary roles of fossils and living organisms in understanding macroevolutionary patterns. Key topics include conifer evolution, palm systematics, and developmental mechanisms like polar auxin transport in land plants.
Labs/Teams: Her lab is part of the Biodiversity Institute’s Division of Paleobotany, established in 1888 with extensive fossil collections. She collaborates internationally on projects like Cretaceous-Paleogene flora studies and conifer reproductive morphology.
