Dr. Alyssa Phillips

Alyssa is the Research Scientist, Genetics at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. She is a plant conservation geneticist and evolutionary biologist. She leverages population and quantitative genetics to inform rare plant conservation, specializing in polyploid species. She completed a bachelor’s from Appalachian State University in Biology and Ph.D. in Plant Biology from UC Davis, where her Ph.D. research integrated population genetics and ecophysiology to study the origins and persistence of mixed-ploidy in Andropogon gerardi, an ecologically dominant prairie grass. As a postdoc at UC Berkeley, she developed evolution-informed tools for quaking aspen management. Outside of the garden, Alyssa enjoys hiking, pottery and knitting. Her favorite part of working at ABG is walking through the gardens to her office each day.