Cody Howard, Chair (chair.dob@sicb.org); Bryan MacNeill, Program Officer (dpo.dob@sicb.org); Aleca Borsuk, Secretary (secretary.dob@sicb.org); Ogonna Eli, Student-Postdoc Representative (ogonnaeli@yahoo.com)

Message from DOB Leadership

The SICB 2026 meeting in Portland was a great time for those of us more botanically inclined in our research interests. There were about 75 total presentations and posters that in one way or another were connected to plants! This made the conference quite busy, but you won’t catch me complaining. I hope for an even busier schedule at SICB 2027 in Pittsburgh! It was a pleasure interacting with everyone at the business meeting, and I hope to implement some of the suggestions at the upcoming meeting (“Ask a Botanist” booth, anyone?).

Also, a big welcome to Dr. Bryan MacNeill as the new DOB Program Officer!

~Cody Howard, DOB Chair

Best Student Presentation Competitions

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2026 Division of Botany Best Student Presentation (BSP) competition! 

Congratulations to Rebecca Beneroff, who was awarded the 2026 Best Student Presentation for a Poster and to Anthony Garcia, who was awarded the 2026 Best Student Presentation for a talk in the Division of Botany. 

Rebecca Beneroff, Best Student Presentation – Poster (DOB)

I am a first-year M.S. Biology student at Bucknell University under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher Martine. My research focuses on the eastern Penstemon group, where I am conducting a fine-scale morphological assessment of Penstemon canescens and P. hirsutus as I attempt to characterize trait variation observed in the field and clarify species descriptions in partnership with the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. Aside from research, I love to explore the relationship between art and science, and I’m working to help inspire others through art-based science communication. I hope to continue my work in a PhD program, examining ecological evolutionary relationships and conservation genetics.

 

Anthony Garcia, Best Student Presentation – Talk (DOB)

I am a fourth year PhD student in Dr. Verónica Di Stilio’s lab at the University of Washington studying flower evolution and development. The diversity of flowers that exist in our world today deeply fascinates me, and through my research, I aim to study how this startling array of floral shapes and functions evolved from a single common ancestor. In particular, I study how carpel traits develop across flowering plants, and how genes co-opted from the carpels result in floral innovations that mediate interactions with pollinators.

 

 

 

 

Incoming DOB Program Officer

My name is Bryan MacNeill, I was the Student/Postdoctoral representative for  the Division of Botany (DOB) at SICB, and I am excited to return and begin my new role as program officer for the DOB. As program officer I am really excited to help engage students across SICB in Botany! I look forward to helping design SICB’s program for the next few years, making sure to incorporate botany however I can and to growing our membership.  I look forward to seeing everyone at next year’s meeting!