Jyotsna Sharma, Ph.D.

Background

Dr. Sharma received a Summa Cum Laude bachelor’s degree in horticulture and business from the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville. She conducted graduate research in the field of plant ecology at the University of Missouri – Columbia and continued her research training at Iowa State University as a postdoctoral research associate. She is an active, contributing member of IUCN Orchid Specialist Group, Ecological Society of America, Botanical Society of America, Native Orchid Conference, Inc., and the North American Orchid Conservation Center.

Research Interests

The Sharma Lab investigates how biotic and abiotic processes interact over spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scales to explain the dynamics of angiosperm populations and communities. Our projects include complementary manipulative and non-manipulative studies in epiphytic and terrestrial plant communities and are supported by national and international funding agencies including NSF, DoD, DoI (USFWS, NPS), IUCN, and NFWF. Students and fellows conduct, analyze, and communicate their research in collaboration with multidisciplinary national and international teams. They have access to field locations in remote areas and renowned scientists along with cutting-edge molecular techniques and laboratory facilities in the U.S. We emphasize special opportunities in team-building, which is an increasingly vital component of science. Further, the students' experiences within our program provide an opportunity to bridge 'basic' ecological and 'applied' studies, two approaches that have historically been isolated but are now moving toward synthesis.

Teaching

• PSS 6000 - Research Methods in Plant Science
• PSS 6001 - Graduate Level Mycorrhizal Symbiosis

Related Links

• Curriculum vitae
• Jyotsna Sharma Laboratory