Rafael Felipe de Almeida holds a PhD in Botany from the Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (2017) and performed two post-doctoral residencies at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (2017-2019) and Universidade Estadual de Goiás (2021-2023) in Brazil. He is currently working as a research assistant on the Grasses of Madagascar project at RBG Kew, elaborating on an illustrated field guide for the 550 species of grasses and bamboos in Madagascar, in addition to working on a phylogenomic study of a Brachiaria clade endemic to Madagascar. He has been working with plant systematics/taxonomy for the past 13 years, focusing on different groups of tropical flowering plants and fungi (i.e., Malpighiaceae, Bignoniaceae, Commelinales, Compositae, Convolvulaceae, and Grasses).
Cássio van den Berg holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the ESALQ/University of São Paulo (1994), a Master's degree in Ecology from UNICAMP (1996), and a PhD in Botany from the University of Reading and Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew (2000). He did his post-doctorate in the Brazilian Genome Program at PUC-PR. He is currently a full-time professor of Phanerogam Systematics at the State University of Feira de Santana and a Coordinator of the Laboratory of the Molecular Systematics of Plants (LAMOL). He has experience in Botany and Plant Genetics, with an emphasis on Molecular Systematics and the main themes he explores include Orchidaceae taxonomy, Phylogenetic and Phylogenomic Systematics of Plants and Fungi, Traditional and Geometric Morphometrics, the Genetics of Natural Plant Populations, and DNA barcoding. He has coordinated research projects in the areas of phylogeny, genetic variability, carbon sequestration, and DNA barcoding. In 2014, he received the Swiss Orchid Research Award for his contribution to studies on the phylogeny of Cattleya and Laeliinae. He also served as a visiting professor at the Universitat Basel, teaching the course "Biology of Orchids" for undergraduate and graduate students.
Morgan R. Gostel is the Director of the Global Genome Initiative for Gardens (GGI-Gardens). Morgan joined GGI in 2015 as a GGI-Buck Postdoctoral Fellow where he led GGI-Gardens as Program Manager, together with Dr. Vicki Funk. In 2018, Morgan moved to Fort Worth, Texas where he continues to direct GGI-Gardens as a Research Botanist at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT). As Director of GGI-Gardens, Morgan coordinates the outreach, training, and development for this partnership which is dedicated to preserving and understanding plant genomic biodiversity. His research interests include systematics and the evolution of the angiosperm families Compositae and Burseaceae (mostly the genus Commiphora). His work incorporates phylogenomics, historical biogeography, and taxonomy. Dr. Gostel earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Policy from George Mason University.
Nadia Roque holds a degree in Biological Sciences from the Universidade Estadual Paulista (1991), a Master's degree (1995) and a Doctorate (1999) in Biological Sciences (Botany) from the University of São Paulo. She is currently an Associate Professor IV at the Federal University of Bahia and a Collaborating Researcher at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington (USA). She develops academic research in the area of Plant Systematics, with a main focus on the Asteraceae family. She supervises Scientific Initiation as well as Master's and Doctoral students in the systematics and floristics of Angiosperms in the Postgraduate Programs in Botany (UEFS) and Plant Diversity (UNEB), in addition to partnerships in the areas of Pollination Ecology and Phytochemistry. Among her administrative activities, she stands out as a curator of the ALCB Herbarium.
