Announcement of several fully funded PhD positions for Fall 2025, University of Florida, USA

The cai lab group explores the natural history and molecular evolution of flowering plants with a special focus on parasitism and other forms of interactions. Plants' lives are a constant battle for water and light. Yet parasitic plants have escaped this fundamental selective regime and instead, evolved unique mechanisms to exploit their hosts. We integrate phylogenetic, genomic, and physiological approaches to infer recalcitrant relationships, reconstruct dispersal history, identify key morphological and chemical innovations, and explore how all of these challenge our understanding of plant evolution in general. 

Research 

➡️ Plant Evolution

➡️ Parasitic Plants

➡️ Evolutionary genomics

➡️ Macroevolution