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Join us for a virtual science presentation on May 12, 2021 at 12 p.m. HST. Find out what our experts at the Botanical Research Center are working on and peek into where it all happens.
Director of Science and Conservation
As Director of Science and Conservation for the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Nina oversees the strategic development of science and conservation at the Juliet Rice Wichman Botanical Research Center (BRC) at NTBG’s headquarters on Kauaʻi. Nina came to NTBG in 2019 from a position as Professor and Curator of vascular plants and Director of Science at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, where she continues to be adjunct professor. She is also affiliated with the EECB graduate specialization at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Following her PhD from the University of Copenhagen, Nina held research fellowships at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in the UK and the University of Minnesota. Nina’s research is interdisciplinary and centered on the evolution and conservation of plant diversity and the relationship between people and plants.
Senior Research Botanist
Dr. David Lorence occupies the B. Evans Chair of Botany and came to the National Tropical Botanical Garden in 1987. Research specialties are systematic studies of tropical plants, floristics, and invasive plant species. His systematic research focuses on Pacific and neotropical members of the large and diverse Rubiaceae family, which includes coffee, quinine, and gardenias. He also studies Pacific island pteridophytes and the Monimiaceae family of the Malagasy region. David leads NTBG’s publication of regional Pacific Floras, including publication of the Flora of Marquesas Islands in 2020, and he currently works on publishing Flora of Samoa.
Herbarium Curator
Tim is Curator of the Herbarium (PTBG) at the National Tropical Botanical Garden. He has been working at NTBG since 1981. In addition to managing the herbarium he has also participated in fieldwork in Hawaiʻi, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, the Cook Islands, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Palau, Australia, New Caledonia, and Ecuador, and currently has a particular interest in contributing to understudied bryophytes.
Conservation Biologist
As Conservation Biologist of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Seana’s primary role is to lead in the development of the organization’s activities to implement the Hawaiʻi Strategy for Plant Conservation. She earned a Master’s degree in Botany from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa and is currently pursuing a PhD degree from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, focused on science-based conservation management of threatened Hawaiian plants. Her applied research interests include plant breeding systems, pollination ecology, and population genetics.
