I am doing my PhD dissertation research on Elatine L. (common name: waterworts) in Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) at University of Connecticut. As a genus of aquatic plants in Elatinaceae, Elatine L. comprises about 25 annual (and a few perennial) species. The main goal of my research on Elatine L. is to study the systematics of this group of aquatics, using morphological, molecular, and ecological characters. I will also deal with hybridization process in this group, since very few chromosome number studies have been conducted on Elatine so far. Incorporating all the above-mentioned techniques, I'm hoping to provide a thorough phylogeny, new information on the taxonomical status of the species, and practical species-level taxonomic keys for all the species of the genus Elatine.
Full-of-fun Collection Travels
I need to travel a lot to collect as many Elatine specimens as possible. So far, I have some travels to Western United States, State of Connecticut, and State of Massacheusetts.
Teaching experience at EEB
I have had the opportunity to teach both undergraduate- and graduate levels in EEB at University of Connecticut. Introduction to Biology Lab (1102) in Fall, 2010 and Systematic Botany Lab (3271/5271) in Spring 2011.
Lab Work
As a doctoral student in Dr. Les Lab, I have been working with cutting-edge methodologies in Biology, including DNA extraction, amplification of various molecular markers, ...