We are pleased to welcome Dr. Jenifer de Carvalho Lopes to the Herbaria as one our newest HUH Research Fellows!

Jenifer is an evolutionary biologist interested in plant systematics, taxonomy and biogeography of Neotropical lineages of Velloziaceae and Annonaceae. Jenifer was associated to Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, where she finished her undergraduate degree in Biological Science (2010) and master's (2012) and PhD (2016) in Botany and postdoc (2023) studying the plant family Annonaceae (the soursop and Ylang Ylang family).

At the HUH Jenifer is mentored by Dr. Charles Davis and is developing a research project with the systematics of Vellozia (Velloziaceae). Velloziaceae (Pandanales) has its main distribution in Brazil, from the total number of 267 species, classified in five genera, 225 occur in Brazil, being 222 endemic species. The diversity of Velloziaceae is centered in the campo rupestre, a type of vegetation associated with rock outcrops in ancient mountaintops, being the most abundant and species-rich vascular plant in this ecosystem. The campo rupestre is inserted in the Cerrado biome, in central Brazil, an environment listed as a hotspot of biodiversity. Vellozia is the largest genus of the family, with 128 species, most of them endemic to Brazil, and do not have an updated taxonomic treatment. Jenifer's project aims to produce a new infrageneric classification for Vellozia and an updated synopsis, with an identification key to species.

Welcome, Jenifer!