My research aims at disentangling plant diversity patterns across multiple spatial scales and taxonomic groups, and lies at the interface between community ecology, macroecology, and conservation biology. I am particularly interested in understanding (1) how contemporary and historical environmental factors, phylogeny and plant functional traits shape global patterns of plant diversity, (2) the role of species interactions in governing biodiversity patterns, and (3) how we can incorporate different facets of biodiversity (e.g., taxonomic, functional, phylogenetic) in conservation priority setting. 

To address these fundamental questions, I integrate data collected from the field, DNA sequencing, and data collated from world-leading plant distribution databases, climatologies, and mega-phylogenies. Much of my research focuses on island floras, which represent unique snapshots in evolutionary time, and are the coolest plants 

biodiversity Orchidaceae epiphytes islands macroecology