As a member of the Medeiros lab at Holden Arboretum, Miranda’s dissertation work focuses on understanding drivers of intraspecific variation in the context of environmental change. Shetzer et al. (in press) shows that Rhododendron minus plants growing in exposed, cold habitats of the Appalachian Mountains may benefit from higher anthocyanin, a photoprotective pigment, due to combined pressures of high light and low temperature during the winter. In addition to anthocyanins, this work indicates that architectural adjustments may help plants manage excess light. This manuscript, titled “Rhododendron minus seedlings achieve similar performance across light environments with anthocyanin accumulation and architectural adjustments under light stress” is Miranda’s first publication.

You can read more about her work here: https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plag008

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