Melissa Duda
MS Student at Northwestern University/Chicago Botanic Garden in the Plant Biology and Conservation Program
About Me
Hi there, I am Melissa! I am a graduate student (MS) at Northwestern University/Chicago Botanic Garden in the Plant Biology and Conservation program. I have always had a love for plants, animals and science so I am exactly where I want to be. I am excited to share my journey through graduate school and beyond.
Check out the details of my research interests below!
Using reproductive biology and ecological niche models to predict the potential impact of hybridization in rare species
My thesis research focuses on using reproductive biology and ecological niche models to predict the potential impact of hybridization in rare species. I will explore this issue in Gentiana puberulenta, a dry prairie species considered rare in portions of its range, and Gentiana andrewsii, a more common congener that grows in mesic prairies. I was introduced to their hybrid, Gentiana x billingtonii, while volunteering in McHenry County and have been intrigued ever since. My research aims to identify the reproductive mechanisms and ecological conditions promoting hybridization in rare species to better understand the potential risk of extinction or evolutionary benefit Gentiana x billingtonii may pose.
Volunteering
Volunteering is incredibly important to me since I have learned so much about prairie plants while participating in community science programs. I volunteer at the McHenry Conservation District in their plant phenology monitoring program. I also volunteer in Chicago Botanic Garden's Plants of Concern program where I monitor Cirsium hilli, Cypripedium albidum, Pogonia ophioglossoides and Utricularia intermedia. I am also the Newsletter Editor of the Nodding Onion for the Northeast Chapter of the Illinois Native Plant Society.
Check out the most recent issue of the Nodding Onion here
Awards
- Recipient of the Bill Dahl Graduate Student Research Award from the Botanical Society of America (2023)
- Recipient of the Vicki A. Funk Graduate Student Research Award from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (2023)
- Recipient of the John Thomson Research Award from the Botanical Club of Wisconsin (2023)
- Recipient of the Illinois Native Plant Society Research Grant (2022)
- Recipient of the Garden Club of America Award for Environmental Studies (2021)
- Summa cum laude (2021)
Opinion Pieces
I enjoy science writing, but I also consider writing opinion pieces a hobby. I have published pieces in the Daily Northwestern and I also have a substack. My substack is titled ‘Power Trip’ which is dedicated to investigating the influence of powerful people and entities in U.S. politics, business, sports, academia, and the environment. Please subscribe to it for my articles to be sent directly to your inbox.
Check out my articles in The Daily Northwestern below:
- Labor unions saw success in 2022 — why didn’t MMA fighters use the momentum?
- 90 seconds to midnight. An arms race between nuclear powers is an imminent threat
- Illinois politicians are choosing megacorporations over our ecosystem
- The ramifications of the WWE and UFC merger
