SAMANTHA KOEHLER

Assistant Professor, State University of Campinas (Unicamp)

Samantha holds a BSc in Biological Sciences and a PhD in Plant Biology. She is currently based at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Brazil), where she is an assistant professor at the Plant Biology Department. As a scientist, Samantha has investigated, over the past 15 years, the systematics, phylogenetics and population biology of Brazilian orchids. She is currently focusing on the study of mycorrhizas and their impact on the ecology, evolution, and conservation of Brazilian orchids. She also actively engages in university outreach, with the mission of raising awareness among the public regarding the importance of biodiversity conservation and scientific research, using plants as models.

Research at ARAÇÁ: Heading the project "Hidden Biodiversity in a Brazilian hotspot: Filling knowledge gaps of neglected taxonomic groups to unveil biological patterns and processes".