Laura Briscoe, M.S.
I discovered liverworts my sophomore year in undergrad and knew that I wanted to work with them. This led me to get in touch with Matt at the Museum, and eventually he had funding to hire me, right after I graduated college. I have been at the Museum ever since, and have helped with several liverwort-related projects. There is no where else I would rather work, as The Field Museum now has probably the largest liverwort herbarium in the world.
Through the support and coaxing of Matt and John, I pursued a Master's Degree from Northwestern and the Chicago Botanic Garden, where I studied the phylogeny, taxonomy, and morphology of a family of liverworts that only grows in the southern hemisphere. Imagine my delight when I was invited to see them in person, first on a field trip with Matt to Fiji, and then twice to Chile.
There are very few young bryologists, and even fewer who only work with liverworts. I am extremely lucky to be at The Field Museum, to have Matt and John as mentors, and to be able to work with such great colleagues as I have met during field expeditions.
