name birth_date alma_mater known_for article_title birth_name thesis_title
vicki funk 1947 b. history , 1969 , m.s. , murray state university , s. biology , 1975 ; phd , ohio state university , , 1980 murray state university , biology and botanist and curator , vicki funk
 victoria ann funk a calloway county , ky. . the systematics of montanoa cerv floristic . -lrb- asteraceae -rrb- and geologic survey of selected seeps of
vicki funk

vicki funk -lrb- born 1947 -rrb- is a senior research botanist and curator at the smithsonian 's national museum of natural history .
she is known for her work on thistles and sunflowers , and for her work collecting compositae , bryophytes , pteridophytes and spermatophytes .
funk 's research includes detailing evolutionary relationships and history using plant dna .
funk co-discovered the critically endangered bidens meyeri in rapa iti , tahiti .
funk 's work shows that this bidens species may represent the end of migration of the plant from north american to tahiti .
since 1988 , she has served as head of the biological diversity of the guiana shield program -lrb- bdg -rrb- .
she is also an adjunct professor at george mason university and duke university .
