I study biodiversity, evolution, ecology and conservation of lichens in the Sonoran Desert, Central & South America. I am also investigating biodeterioration and biomineralization, how lichens affect their rock substrates. More Information
BioKIC Staff

Frank Bungartz
Collection Manager - Lichen Herbarium and Digital Data

Nico Franz
Curator - Hasbrouck Insect Collection and Director - Biocollections and BioKIC
I am an insect systematist who specializes in New World weevil diversity and evolution, with additional interests in biodiversity data science and in broadly promoting the use of biocollections. More Information

Edward Gilbert
Biodiversity Informatician - NEON Biorepository
Formally trained as a botanist, I have been working for the last two decades as a biodiversity informatics specialist assisting with digitization and data management of biodiversity data across all taxonomic groups. More Information

Azhar Husain
Cryo Collections Manager - NEON Biorepository
My background is in laboratory sample management, cold chain logistics and biorepository operations, in support of academic and industry research leaders. More Information

Andrew Johnston
Invertebrate Collections Manager - NEON Biorepository
I am an insect systematist with a research focus on darkling beetles (Family Tenebrionidae) and North American desert biogeography. I currently manage the invertebrate collections associated with the NEON Biorepository at the ASU Biocollections. More Information

Leslie Landrum
Curator Emeritus - Vascular Plant Herbarium
I am a plant taxonomist working on American Myrtaceae, especially Psidium and its relatives. I also collaborate with my colleague Daryl Lafferty on investigating how biodiversity data can be used in biogeography studies. Finally, I am editor of the Vascular Plants of Arizona project and Canotia (Canotia.org), a journal for Arizona botany and mycology. More Information

Sangmi Lee
Collection Manager - Hasbrouck Insect Collection and Mollusk Collection
I am an insect systematist specializing in conservation, evolution, and biodiversity of twirler moths (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), with further interests in faunistic surveys and collections-based research. More Information

Rosie Liao
Sample Preparator - NEON Biorepository
Rosie prepares the mammal vouchers for the collections. After a few years of working in the field, she has become very interested in spatial ecology and habitat use. More Information

Elizabeth Makings
Collection Manager - Vascular Plant Herbarium
I am a botanist interested in the diversity, distribution, and evolutionary history of plants and in applying this knowledge toward outreach and conservation. More Information

Kathleen Pigg
Curator - Fossil Plant Collection
I am a paleobotanist who studies fossil plants, primarily from western North America that are closely related to modern plants of North America and often Asia. I study fossilized fruits, seeds, flowers and leaves and compares them with their modern relatives to learn how they have changed in their morphological features through time. More Information