Dr Laura Lowe Forrest, Molecular Laboratory Manager
Email: Laura Forrest
Laura Forrest has been employed at RBGE since 2011. She provides technical support in the molecular laboratory as part of the Scientific and Technical Services (STS) team. This includes training and practical support for staff and visitors, and for undergraduate, masters and PhD students, lecturing on bryology and on molecular techniques, consultancy work, protocol development, and day-to-day running of the laboratories.
She leads several projects that utilise amplicon-based DNA barcoding for plant identification, including DNA barcoding the British liverworts, a project that aims to build a well-verified open access reference database on the Barcode of Life platform (BOLD), and plant identification for the Darwin Tree of Life project. More in-depth work involves species identification and description in several bryophyte lineages, including Aneura and Fossombronia, as well as consultancy work. Laura is working to ensure that Standard Operating Protocols are available on protocols.io for this work.