Elizabeth Powell

Dr. Elizabeth Powell

Associate Professor/Biology

Room 217, Koch Center for Engineering and Science
812-488-2025
ap96@evansville.edu

Specializations

  • Plant evolution and biology
  • Parasitic plant/host interactions

Education

  • PhD (Biology). Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA, 2005
  • M.S. (Biology). Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1996
  • B.S.(Biology) with honors. Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1992

Courses Taught

  • BIOL 120 Introductory Biology: Organismal Diversity
  • BIOL 215 Field Botany (Smoky Mountains)
  • BIOL 225 Horticulture
  • BIOL 299 Phage Genome Analysis
  • BIOL 315 Ethnobotany
  • BIOL 414 Plant Diversity
  • BIOL 482 Senior Seminar
  • ES 103 Fundamentals of Environmental Science
  • ID 106 Excelling in Mathematics and Science

Elizabeth Powell in sun hat

Elizabeth Powell and dog

Research Interests

I am interested in plants! How they are related to each other, where they occur (or don’t occur), how they interact with each other, and what interesting chemicals they contain.

Grants and Awards

  • 2022. UExplore Undergraduate Research Program – Ann Powell, Cris Hochwender, Brad Schulte and Danielle Monroe. Examining the effects of host plant species on the performance of Cuscuta gronovii.
  • 2022. Charles Robertson Endowed Summer Research Scholarship (Biology). Ann Powell, Cris Hochwender, Brad Schulte and Danielle Monroe. Examining the effects of host plant species on the performance of Cuscuta gronovii.
  • 2021. UExplore Undergraduate Research Program – Cris Hochwender, Ann Powell, Caitlin Caldwell and Elyse Talley. Foraging by Cuscuta gronovii: examining effects on diet mixing and fitness.
  • 2013. Alumni Research and Scholarly Activity Fellowship (ARSAF). The phylogenetic utility of microsatellite loci (SSRs) in Vaccinium section Cyanococcus.
  • 2013. Charles Robertson Endowed Summer Research Scholarship (Biology). The phylogenetic utility of microsatellite loci (SSRs) in Vaccinium section Cyanococcus.
  • 2011. UExplore Undergraduate Research Program –Ann Powell, Matt Williams and Bethany Bonifield: “An analysis of species limits and evolutionary relationships of the lowbush and highbush blueberries ( Vaccinium section Cyanococcus) using a variable chloroplast DNA region”.
  • 2010. UExplore Undergraduate Research Program – Matt Williams and Ann Powell: “An analysis of the evolutionary relationships of the highbush blueberries ( Vaccinium section Cyanococcus) using waxy DNA sequences”.
  • 2009. UExplore Undergraduate Research Program - Ann Powell, Elaine Durchholz, and Mallory Williams: “The phylogenetic utility of a nuclear intron (NAI-i3) in the blueberry tribe (Vaccinieae, Ericaceae)”
  • 2009. Alumni Research and Scholarly Activity Fellowship (ARSAF) Program- Ann Powell: “Evolutionary relationships of the North American blueberries ( Vaccinium) and huckleberries ( Gaylussacia)”.
  • 2009. UExplore Undergraduate Research Program - Mallory Williams and Ann Powell: “Evolutionary relationships and polyploidy origins in Vaccinium section Cyanococcus”.
  • 2008. UExplore Undergraduate Research Program - Ann Powell, Elaine Durchholz, and Mallory Williams: “Evolutionary relationships of the North American blueberries ( Vaccinium)”.

Selected Publications (*UE student authors.) 

  • Hochwender, C.G., E.A. Powell, C. Caldwell*, D. Smith*, E. Talley*. Diet mixing has a limited benefit for the generalist holoparasite, Cuscuta gronovii. (In preparation.)
  • Kron, K.A. and E.A. Powell. 2009. Molecular Systematics of Rhododendron subgenus Tsutsusi (Rhodoreae, Ericoideae, Ericaceae). Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 66: 81-95.
  • Powell, E.A., and K.A. Kron. 2003. Molecular systematics of the northern Andean blueberries (Vaccinieae, Vaccinioideae, Ericaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences. 164: 987-995.
  • Powell, E.A., and K.A. Kron. 2002. Hawaiian blueberries and their relatives - A phylogenetic analysis of Vaccinium sections Macropelma, Myrtillus, and Hemimyrtillus. Systematic Botany 27: 768-779.
  • Kron, K.A., E.A. Powell, and J.L. Luteyn. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships within the blueberry tribe (Vaccinieae, Ericaceae) based on sequence data from matK and nrITS sequence data, with comments on the placement of Satyria. American Journal of Botany 89: 327-336.

Recent Lab Alumni

  • Mallory (Williams) Zorn, M.D. – Pediatrician
  • Elaine (Durchholz) Sowell – Medical Laboratory Scientist
  • Bethany Bonifield – Laboratory Scientist
  • Rachel McCoy, PhD – Postdoctoral Researcher, Purdue University