Pamela Soltis (born November 13, 1957) is an American
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
. She is a distinguished professor at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
Nelsonville, Ohio
Nelsonville is a city in northwest York Township in Athens County, Ohio. It is 60 miles southeast of Columbus. The population was 4,612 at the 2020 census originally, but an official citywide recount found the population to be 5,373, thus main ...
, to Barbara D. Sagraves and Walter Ronald Sagraves. She attended Pella High School in
Pella, Iowa
Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, Marion County, Iowa, United States, with a population of 10,464 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. Founded by immigrants from the Netherlands, it is forty miles southeast of Des ...
, and graduated in 1976 as
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
. She was a
National Merit Finalist
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...
in 1976. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Central College in 1980 and graduated summa cum laude. She then attended
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...
and earned an M.Phil. with honors in botany in 1984 and a Ph.D. in botany in 1986.
Career
After earning her Ph.D., Soltis started as an assistant professor in the Department of Botany at
Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...
in 1986 and was promoted to associate professor in 1992. She was then promoted in full professor in the Department of Botany and School of Biological Sciences in 1998. In 2000 Soltis moved from
Washington State University
Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...
to
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, Soltis was University of Florida Research Foundation Research Professor from 2006 to 2009 and co-director of the UF Computational Biology Program from 2009 to 2012.
Research
Soltis' research has focused on the patterns and processes that generated the tree of life. More specifically, she studies the flowering plant ( angiosperm) diversity and evolution. She uses genomic methods, natural history collections and computational modeling to understand the phylogeny, phylogeography, and polyploidy of angiosperms. She has published over 400 scientific papers, and among her most cited contributions are papers on the role of genetic and genomic attributes in the success of polyploids. In 2016, Soltis was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
Society for the Study of Evolution
The Society for the Study of Evolution is a professional organization of evolutionary biologists. It was formed in the United States in 1946 to promote evolution and the integration of various fields of science concerned with evolution and to organ ...
, the
American Society of Plant Taxonomists The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) is a botanical organization formed in 1935 to "foster, encourage, and promote education and research in the field of plant taxonomy, to include those areas and fields of study that contribute to and b ...
, the American Genetics Association, and the
Society of Systematic Biologists
The Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) started as the Society of Systematic Zoology in 1947. A temporary constitution was adopted at the first meeting on 28 December 1947. The updated "biologists" organization (from "zoology") become incorpora ...
. She served a three-year term as secretary of the Botanical Society of America and is currently the president of the
Society of Systematic Biologists
The Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) started as the Society of Systematic Zoology in 1947. A temporary constitution was adopted at the first meeting on 28 December 1947. The updated "biologists" organization (from "zoology") become incorpora ...
. She also serves as an associate editor for the journals ''Evolution'' and ''Systematic Biology''. She is a member of the University of Kansas Women's Hall of Fame.
Honors
She was the winner of the 2002 Dahlgren Prize in Botany from the Royal Physiographic Society of Sweden.
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
named her as a highly cited researcher in 2014. She won, along with her husband,
Douglas Soltis
Douglas Soltis is a Distinguished Professor in the Laboratory of Molecular Systematics & Evolutionary Genetics, (Soltis lab.) Florida Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology at the University of Florida. His research interests are in ...
, the 2006
Asa Gray Award
Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...
*. 2004. ''The origin and diversification of angiosperms''. Am. J. Bot. 91: 1614–1626
*. 2004. ''Pre-angiosperm duplication of floral genes and regulatory tinkering at the base of angiosperms''. Am. J. Bot. 91: 2102–2118
*. 2004. ''Molecular cytogenetic analysis of recently evolved
Tragopogon
''Tragopogon'', also known as goatsbeard or salsify, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It includes the vegetable known as Tragopogon porrifolius, salsify, as well as a number of common wild flowers.
Salsifies are forbs gro ...
(
Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
) allopolyploids reveal a karyotype that is additive of the diploid progenitors''. Am. J. Bot. 91: 1022–1035
*. 2004. Darwin's abominable mystery: Insights from a supertree of the angiosperms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 101: 1904–1909.
*. 2003. Evolution of floral structures in basal angiosperms. International Journal of Plant Sciences 164: S329-S363.
*. 2003 ''An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II''. Bot. J. of the Linnean Soc. 141: 399-436 *. 2002. ''Rate heterogeneity among lineages of land plants: integration of molecular and fossil data and evidence for molecular living fossils''. Proc. of the National Academy of Sci. USA 99: 4430-4435
*. 2000. ''Patterns of genetic variation in rare and widespread plant congeners: Do rare species have low levels of genetic variability?'' Am. J. Bot. 87: 783-792
*. 1999. ''Angiosperm phylogeny inferred from multiple genes: A research tool for comparative biology''. Nature 402: 402-404
Books
* . 2006. ''Developmental genetics of the flower''. Volumen 44 de Advances in botanical research incorporating advances in plant pathology. Edición ilustrada de Academic Press, 616 pp. en línea * . 1992. ''Molecular systematics of plants''. Editor Springer, 434 pp. en línea * . 1990. ''Isozymes in plant biology''. Edición ilustrada de Springer, 268 pp. en línea * . 1986. ''Studies of genetic variation in an introgressive complex in
Clarkia
''Clarkia'' is a genus within the flowering plant family Onagraceae. Over 40 species are currently classified in ''Clarkia''; almost all are native to western North America, though one species (''Clarkia tenella'') is native to South America.
...