Honors alumna Morgan Gaglianese-Woody ’19 is working with Appalachian State University’s Dr. Matt Estep on a five-year U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funded research project studying the genetic diversity and sustainability of populations located at Roan Mountain. Dr. Estep is a plant geneticist and associate professor in App State’s Department of Biology, who has supervised eight Honors College student's theses in recent years including Gaglianese-Woody’s titled The Development Of Microsatellite Markers For The Culturally And Economically Significant Plant, Allium Tricoccum Ait. Ganlianese-Woody is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in biology with a concentration in ecology and evolutionary biology at Appalachian under the mentorship of Dr. Estep. For more on Dr. Estep’s research and lab, read the story, App State genetic diversity study to inform US Fish and Wildlife conservation efforts for endangered NC plant, by Jessica Stump in AppalachianToday.
Top photo: Appalachian State University biology graduate student Morgan Gaglianese-Woody ’19, of Charlotte, is pictured preparing to rappel down a cliff face at the Tater Hill Plant Preserve. Under the direction of App State associate professor Dr. Matt Estep, Gaglianese-Woody is serving as a research assistant on a federally funded project to examine the genetic diversity and sustainability of the mountain’s spreading avens — a federally endangered plant species native to Western North Carolina. Photo courtesy of Dr. Matt Estep
