John R.
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Industry | Science |
| Occupation | Systematist, botanist |
| Location | Sarasota, FL, United States |
| Introduction | I am a recent doctoral graduate from Washington State University where I specialized in plant molecular systematics (a field of evolutionary biology that utilizes DNA analysis to interpret the relationships between plants). My botanical interests center on the plant family Gesneriaceae (African violets and their relatives), in particular Old World members of this diverse and fascinating plant family. Over my career, I have gained expertise in various botanical-related endeavors including field-based research, plant tissue culture, herbarium curation, and DNA extraction, amplification and analysis. Since 1997, I have participated in and coordinated numerous expeditions to the tropics including trips to Trinidad, Costa Rica, Samoa, Fiji and Hawaii. My current focus is in comparative methods analysis for ancestral range reconstruction (understanding when, where and how organisms came to their current distributions on the planet). I am also a scientific illustrator and have completed projects in anatomy, physiology, and taxonomy. For more on me and my research, check out my website at http://johnrobertclark.googlepages.com |
| Interests | science, life, plants, gesneriads, philosophy, art, travel, illustrating, design, cooking, the great outdoors and all there is to do and see! |
| Favorite Movies | Anything John Huston directed, Bogart films, Orson Wells, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Shawshank Redemption, Wes Anderson films, Tarantino films |
| Favorite Books | fiction, philosophy, religion, science |