Laary J. Cushman
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-: 360* Photo: Collecting Micranthes petiolaris from cliffs on Grandfather Mountain, NC :-

I am a plant scientist & Assistant Professor of Biology at Anderson University, SC, specializing in population and landscape genetics. 
I am currently studying disjunct populations of Saxifragaceae within high-elevation habitats of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and how historic ecological inputs have driven shifts in range, floral morphology, and plant physiology since the last ice age.
I incorporate physiological and genomic data with GIS to better understand bioinformatic results acquired from rad-seq methodologies. 
I am interested in the biological and ecological interactions that drive floral variation and physiological adaptations.
I have taught Biology, Botany, Env. Science, and Plant Physiology courses, and served as interim curator for the Clemson University Herbarium.
In my spare time, I work in the field with private and public groups to evaluate habitats and species of ecological importance, for both conservation and management prior to preservation and development. 
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Phylogentics : Median stable ancestral state reconstruction of Saxifragaceae Genome Sizes under a Brownian motion model
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Field Collections : Cloud cover during field work on Mount Pisgah, NC
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Genomics : Denovo assembly of Radseq reads (cpDNA) to reference genome for gene homology and physiological trait inferences
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Bioinformatics : LINUX command–line environment and BASH analyses via high–performance computing frameworks
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GIS Modeling : Pleistocene range of Micranthes petiolaris (heat map with range contours) and current distribution (pink)
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Curation : Morphological trait analysis and collection mounting for new variety of Micranthes petiolaris