Phipps Conservatory Announces 2025 Botany in Action Fellows
For Immediate Release: Thurs., May 8
Contact: Joe Reed | Senior Director of Communications
412-622-6915, ext. 3801 | jreed@phipps.conservatory.org
Phipps Conservatory Announces 2025 Botany in Action Fellows
Grant Fellowship Program Supports the Plant-Focused Research of Seven Doctoral-Level Students
Pittsburgh, PA – Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is pleased to announce the 2025 roster of Botany in Action Fellows. This group of seven scientists represent universities from across the country with research topics varying from beekeeping in Belize to soil-borne fungi to germination strategies on species living in tropical dry forests. Underwritten in part by The Garden Club of Allegheny County, the Botany in Action Fellowship program will support their work through research grants and science communication training.
Current fellows and their research topics follow:
K. Brinson, NC State University (North Carolina)
Ethnobotany of Stingless Beekeeping by the Maya of Belize.
Rosebelle Ines, Binghamton University (New York)
Using ant-mediated seed dispersal to restore and augment wildflowers in secondary forests of New York.
Joe Jaros, The Ohio State University
Incorporating Environmental Context into a model of Alliaria petiolata Population Dynamics to Predict Invasion Impact and Improve Management Efficiency.
Viviana Londoño-Lemos, University of Minnesota
Tolerate, Avoid or Die: Discovering the Germination Strategies of Tropical Dry Forest Species in a Changing World.
Pablo Lopez-Bustamante, Virginia Commonwealth University
Influence of Density-Dependence and Resource Partitioning on Dispersal Syndromes in a Tropical Dry Forest under Climate Change.
Gabriela Quesada-Ávila, University of South Florida
Hot friends or hot enemies: the role of soil-borne fungi on seed germination and survival.
David Felipe Rodríguez Mora, University of Texas at San Antonio.
The Cofán-Yagé (a.k.a. Ayahuasca) Lianas Shapeshifting Relations: How Yagé Tourism Has Changed Cofán-Yagé Lianas’ Interactions, Understandings, and Shamanic Knowledge.
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About Phipps: Founded in 1893, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA is a globally recognized green leader with a mission to inspire and educate all with the beauty and importance of plants; to advance sustainability and promote human and environmental well-being through action and research; and to celebrate its historic glasshouse. Encompassing 15 acres including a historic 14-room glasshouse, 23 distinct indoor and outdoor gardens and industry-leading sustainable architecture and operations, Phipps attracts more than half a million visitors annually from around the world. Learn more at phipps.conservatory.org.
Watch TEDx: What We Can Learn From an Old Glasshouse: A look at the evolving way we connect people to nature at Phipps, demonstrate how human and environmental health are inextricably connected, and show that to age gracefully, we must continually reinvent ourselves to evolve with the rest of the world.
