Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Professor

Biography

I am a plant physiological ecologist interested in understanding how the evolutionary history of plant function influences ecosystem processes, especially in forested systems. I am a Professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and the Director of the Harvard University Herbaria (HUH). I also direct the NSF-funded Biology Integration Institute, ASCEND (Advancing Spectral Biology in Changing Environments to Understand Biodiversity), which brings together scientists across biological subdisciplines to advance the use of light reflectance across many wavelengths (spectra) to monitor and understand the causes and consequences of biodiversity across scales.

My team uses novel spectral biology approaches that integrate spectroscopic data and imagery to detect plant variation across scales. Within the HUH, we have launched an international working group (IHerbSpec) that is developing protocols and standards for measuring spectral reflectance on herbarium specimens to improve global knowledge of plant function and biodiversity.

In addition to my research interests, I am dedicated to international efforts to monitor and assess biodiversity and ecosystem services in support of sustainability, including work with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Outside of the United States, I have worked extensively in Central America, Mexico, and Europe. Since arriving at Harvard in 2024, I have been involved in launching Harvard’s Biodiversity and Planetary Stewardship initiative through the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability.