Research being conducted in my laboratory lies in 3 areas of botanical science. 

Molecular Systematic of Plants—Plant molecular systematics is a branch of biology that focuses on using tools from genetics like PCR and DNA sequencing to address questions of evolution and biogeography in plants.  I am currently working of the genus Prunus, the genus made up of plums, peaches, cherries, apricots, and almonds.  This focus has led me to become interested the different rates of evolution among various noncoding fragments of the plant genome.  Because different regions of the genome evolve (accumulate genetic mutations) at different rates some regions may be better tools than others for studies among either closely or distantly related species.

Floristics of the southeastern United States—Floristic study of the plants of the southeast, specifically in southeast TN, northeast AL, and northwest GA is a primary research interest in my lab.  Cataloging plant species in various areas (e.g., federal and state natural areas or areas that have been heavily disturbed in the past) provides base-line data for many other types of inquiry.  In addition to recording the species in a given area at a given time this type of study also will add to a growing body of knowledge on plant distributions in Tennessee and the rest of the southeast.

Exotic Invasive Plant Studies—Many plant species have been introduced to North America and several have become naturalized among the native flora; for example Japanese honeysuckle and kudzu.  In addition to these two several other lesser-known exotic species are also spreading throughout the southeast.  It is important to record the presence, absence, and ultimately spread of these exotic species for several reasons.  The obvious reason being that the presence of an exotic invasive species along with information on relative abundance and geospatial information (GPS/GIS) can directly be used in formulating an eradication plan.

I am always interested to talk to both undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in developing projects in: floristics, invasive species studies, taxonomic studies, or molecular phylogenetic and/or phylogeographic studies.