Hutchins Scholars Research Plant Systematics at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Rising Fifth Formers and Hutchins Scholars Bryan Fan, Ben Gubbay, Nikita Coppisetti, and Nicole Cheng are participating in a four-week resident research initiative at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Fla. Their research aims to generate DNA sequencing data to evaluate the evolutionary history of tropical plants. The project will provide original DNA sequence data to understand the evolutionary history of members from the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae in Latin America. The collection of museum specimens, live horticultural collections, and expertise of resident scientists make Selby Gardens an ideal institution to bring together this group of researchers and students.

Lawrenceville science teacher John L. Clark is working with the students. Additional researchers who traveled to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens to facilitate the program include Laura Clavijo (assistant professor, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in Bogota, Colombia), Jeremy Keene (associate professor of biology, science, and mathematics at Glenville State College in Glenville, W.V.), and Glenville State College honors student Victoria Porterfield. Presentations are: 

“Taxonomic Names are not Set in Stone: A Phylogenetic Approach for Tattoos and Generic names of Central American Gesneriaceae”

Fan and Gubbay will present a phylogeny for four genera endemic to Central America (Alsobia, Cobananthus, Oerstedina, and Rufodorsia). Their presentation will represent the most comprehensive taxon sampling of these four genera so that traditional classification can be evaluated in a phylogenetic context. These beautiful plants are featured as body art in the Sarasota area, and students will provide accurate names that reflect their evolutionary relationships.

“The Final Frontier of Exploring Relationships and Generic Boundaries of New World Gesneriaceae: A Molecular Phylogeny of Diastema and Monopyle”  

Coppisetti and Cheng will present a phylogeny of the New World subtribe Gloxiniinae, emphasizing Diastema and Monopyle. Their presentation will include the phylogenetic placement of fifteen to twenty species that are new to science. Exploration of currently recognized genera will be discussed in the context of plastid and nuclear markers.

Lawrentians are participating in this collaborative summer research as part of their work in Lawrenceville’s Hutchins Scholars Program, which recognizes and supports some of the School’s most outstanding science students. This initiative provides Scholars with substantive research experiences, prepares them for leading university science programs, and ultimately inspires them to pursue science-related careers. The Lawrenceville School Hutchins Scholars Program, Glenville State College Foundation, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and The Gesneriad Society supported this collaborative research initiative.

For additional information, please contact Lisa M. Gillard Hanson, director of Public Relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.