Jennifer R. Mandel
Associate Professor
About Dr. Mandel
Dr. Mandel and lab members have broad interests in plant ecology, evolution, and biodiversity. In the field, greenhouse, and lab they ask questions about mechanisms that drive and maintain biodiversity, as well as those that underlie phenotypic diversity especially in crops. They use genetic and genomic approaches to understand evolutionary processes that have led to the remarkable genetic, phenotypic, and ecological diversity present in nature. The Mandel lab studies sunflowers and their relatives, family Asteraceae, which is the largest family of flowering plants with more than 25,000 species distributed worldwide. Many members of the family have importance directly relevant to human health and well-being through links with agriculture, medicine, and industry. Dr. Mandel teaches Molecular Ecology, Ecological Genetics, and General Biology I.
Education
B.A. Biology, Carson Newman University; Ph.D. Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University; Post-Doctoral Fellow Plant Biology, University of Georgia.
Research Interests
- Botany
- Conservation and biodiversity
- Crop genetics and genomics
- Ecological and evolutionary genomics
- Phylogenetics and systematics