Dr Perpetua Ipulet – Makerere University
Perpetua IPULET is a Senior Lecturer at Makerere University, has a BSc (Botany/Zoology/Geography), MSc (Envt Sci.), PhD (Microbiology). She has 26 years working as a Botanist / Microbiologist. She started her career as a Research assistant (Botanist), and, coordinated training in Plant conservation and Herbarium Techniques at the East African Herbarium. She has also trained with the Royal Botanic gardens Kew, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology UK, University of Oslo, Aloha Medicinals Inc USA, Institute of edible fungi Shanghai, and the Mycology Laboratories in Belgium. She has 16 publications, supervised graduate theses, special interest is the Genus Ficus and polypores.
Dr Iain Darbyshire – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Iain Darbyshire is a botanist and senior research leader at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew with over 20 years’ experience of documenting plant diversity in tropical Africa. He has a specialist interest in the taxonomy and systematics of Acanthaceae and related families in the Lamiales, but also has a wider interest in applying taxonomic knowledge and collections-based science to biodiversity conservation planning in Africa. As such, he co-ordinates the Tropical Important Plant Areas programme at Kew and is currently working in collaboration with partners in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Uganda to document IPAs and advocate for their protection and sustainable management.
Dr Ana Rita Simoes – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Ana Rita Simões is a Taxonomist at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, focusing on Taxonomy and Systematics of African flora, and Visiting Professor at Ghent University (Belgium), where she teaches Biodiversity Conservation. She holds a PhD in Plant Systematics from the University of Reading (UK) and Natural History Museum of London, with post-doctoral experience in SE Asia and Brazil, where she was a lecturer in Systematic Botany. She specialises in Convolvulaceae, the family of sweet potato and morning glories, with ongoing research in Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana, including the supervision of several PhD and MSc students in these countries. She has also coordinated short Plant Taxonomy courses, and has a keen interest in developing Plant Taxonomy capacity in Africa.