Francis Nge

Biography

Francis is an evolutionary biologist and plant systematist, interested in macroevolutionary patterns and processes across different scales in time and space.

Francis is currently a Systematic Botanist Research Scientist at the National Herbarium of New South Wales, in the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, Australia.

Francis completed his PhD in 2021 on the diversification dynamics and evolution of the Australian temperate flora. His research in plant systematics focuses on a broad range of taxonomic plant groups including Proteaceae, Myrtaceae, and Rhamnaceae.

Previously, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the Couvreur lab at IRD, Montpellier, France, looking at phylogenomics of the custard apple plant family (Annonaceae) and tropical rain forest macroevolution more broadly.

Francis’ main research interests include understanding the drivers and mechanisms that have resulted in the uneven distribution of earth’s biodiversity across the Tree of Life. Particularly, he is interested in region-specific diversification dynamics, and understanding the origins and evolution of the Australian flora, as well as tropical rain forest systems. He engages in interdisciplinary research, and incorporates different approaches across the fields of evolutionary biology, systematics, taxonomy, biogeography, ecology, and physiology to address fundamental questions of biology.