Welcome to our newest HUH Research Fellow, Dr. Andrea Berardi!

Andrea is a plant ecological and evolutionary geneticist. She recently completed a postdoc in Cris Kuhlemeier’s Lab at the Institute of Plant Sciences in Bern, Switzerland where she worked on the evolution of floral color (visible and UV) and scent in wild Petunia species.

At the HUH, Andrea will be mentored by Dr. Robin Hopkins and will focus her research on floral color evolution in North American Silene. Of the ~700 Silene species, only eight produce red flowers. These red-flowering species only belong to polyploid lineages and are restricted to North America. To determine what the most likely driver of floral color evolution is in Silene (pollinator shifts, sympatric competition, or polyploidy), Andrea will survey the Gray Herbarium (GH) as well as make collection trips to contribute to the collections with newly described endemic Silene species.

Welcome, Andrea!