Dr. Bill Baker, Biologist (January 2023)
The Merwin Conservancy welcomed biologist Dr. Bill Baker for a residency in January 2023.
Dr. William J. Baker is a systematic biologist, working in the fields of taxonomy, phylogenetics, evolution, biogeography and conservation of flowering plants. His work draws extensively on biological collections, especially at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, spanning herbarium, lab and field to address fundamental questions in plant diversity research. Dr. Baker visited The Merwin Conservancy for the first time in 2017. Read more about his visit here.
Dr. Bakerʻs current research interests include:
- The angiosperm tree of life – Dr. Baker leads Kew’s Tree of Life Initiative in which they aim to complete the angiosperm tree of life by sequencing all 13,600 genera using the universal genomic toolkit Angiosperms353.
- Palm systematics and taxonomy – Palms are a model group for tropical research and are of immense ecological and economic importance. Dr. Baker has specialized in the taxonomy, systematics and evolution of this fascinating family for the past three decades.
- Applications of the tree of life – Dr. Baker is interested in exploring uses of the tree of life (and the data that underpin it) in broader comparative and applied research. Recent studies have addressed questions in global biogeography, biome evolution, speciation, trait evolution and sustainable management of natural resources.
