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Core Faculty Lucinda A. McDade, Ph.D. Dr. McDade arrived at RSABG in Fall 2006 as Chair of the CGU Botany Department and Director of Research at RSABG in the fall of 2006. She earned her Ph.D. from Duke University and has held previous appointments in academia (University of Arizona, 1992-2000), natural history museums (the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 2001-2006), and in science administration (the Organization for Tropical Studies, 1985-1992). Dr. McDade's research focuses on the large (>4000 species) plant family Acanthaceae, on the role of hybridization in plant evolutionary history and in phylogeny reconstruction, and on plant reproductive biology. Contact Dr. Lucinda McDade
Dr. Columbus joined the RSABG staff and CGU faculty in 1994. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley. His focus is the systematics of the grass family (Gramineae or Poaceae), especially subfamily Chloridoideae, comprising some 1400 species worldwide. In addition to fieldwork, he employs morphological, anatomical, cytological, developmental, and molecular data to discover the phylogenetic relationships among species, describe new genera and species, improve the classification, and gain insights into processes of diversification and biogeography. Contact Dr. J. Travis Columbus
In 1995, Dr. Friar joined the RSABG staff and CGU faculty. Before joining RSABG, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Arizona. She received her B.A. in biology at Oberlin College (Ohio) and completed her doctoral studies at the University of Georgia. Her doctoral research focused on genetic variability and evolution in the woody bamboos (Bambusoideae: Poaceae) and her current research involves examining the effects of rapid change in population size and structure utilizing molecular techniques to determine the genetic variability of several species in the Hawaiian silversword alliance (Asteraceae). Contact Dr. Elizabeth Friar
Dr. Porter joined the Garden in 1993 after completing his doctorate at the University of Arizona. His general research interests are the theory and applications of phylogenetic systematics. Dr. Porter is best known for his molecular systematic studies in the families Polemoniaceae and Cactaceae. He is especially interested in the contributions of phylogenetic information for the conservation of biotic diversity. Contact Dr. J. Mark Porter
Research Faculty Dr. Prince arrived at the Garden in 2001 as a post-doctoral fellow. Following receipt of her Ph.D. degree from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, she also had undertaken post-doctoral studies at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. Dr. Prince’s research interests include plant systematics and evolutionary biology, especially of the family Theaceae and order Zingiberales. Dr. Prince is also director of the Garden’s Biodiversity lab studies program, bringing modern DNA techniques to bear on plant conservation issues. Current research projects of this program focus on species boundaries and population genetics of southwestern plants. Contact Dr. Linda Prince Dr. Wilson joined the RSABG staff and CGU faculty in 2005. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and had a previous academic position at Portland State University. Dr. Wilson’s research focuses on molecular phylogenetics, systematics and biogeography of Iris (Iridaceae) and Loranthaceae, and the evolution and developmental morphology of sepal elaborations, dorsiventral leaves and geophytic structures in Iris, haustorial systems in the Loranthaceae and floral symmetry in both the Iridaceae and Loranthaceae. Contact Dr. Carol Wilson
Emeritus Faculty After completing his Ph.D. at Washington University, St. Louis, and the Missouri Botanical Garden under Dr. Edgar Anderson, Dr. Lenz came to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in 1948, and in 1960 was named Executive Director, a position he held until his retirement in 1983. He was appointed Associate Professor (later Professor) at the Claremont Graduate School (now Claremont Graduate University) in 1952 and chaired the department from ca. 1956 to 1981. His early research centered around cytogenetics and taxonomy, especially in Iridaceae and in plants now treated as Themidaceae. He has also had an interest in the origin of cultivated plants and has carried out horticultural breeding programs at the Garden utilizing native western taxa. In recent years he has devoted much of his time to studies of the genus Yucca (Agavaceae).
After completing his B.A. at Dartmouth in 1941, service in World War II, and Ph.D. at Cornell in 1949, Dr. Thorne taught 14 years at the University of Iowa with two Fulbright scholarships in Australia and a senior postdoctoral fellowship in Australia and England before coming to RSABG and CGS (Claremont Graduate School, now Claremont Graduate University) in 1962. He is recognized internationally for his synoptic classification of flowering plants. As a biogeographer, he has, and continues to, pursue floristic work in Alta and Baja California and other areas. He is especially interested in aquatic plants and major disjunctions in the geographic ranges of vascular plants. As curator of the RSABG and POM herbaria he contributed much through the years to their development as a major repository of specimens with worldwide coverage. Dr. Thorne is the recipient of the prestigious Asa Gray Award (2001) from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and the Merit (1996) and Centennial Award (2006) from the Botanical Society of America. |
