Biography/Research Overview
I am responsible for curating and managing the University’s internationally important collection of over 1.1 million preserved plant specimens, which is located in the basement of the Sainsbury Laboratory, on the Botanic Garden site. I was appointed in 2017 and now manage a team of two members of staff, and a range of volunteers, students, and visitors from all over the world, working across a range of curation, research and digitisation projects. In recent years I have been focusing on raising awareness of the collection, improving access, establishing operational policies and procedures, and developing long-term strategies for the herbarium. I also deliver lectures, practical classes and herbarium tours to undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Plant Sciences and related subjects, and a wide range of external visitors.
Before joining the Department, I spent over a decade on the staff at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, specialising in orchids, palms and conservation in Madagascar, and I serve on a number of committees including the RHS Orchid Committee and the Trustees of the Botanical Research Fund.
Previous positions
2014 - 2017 Career Development Research Fellow, Conservation Science, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
2012 - 2014 Botanist, Palms and Pandans Team, Herbarium, RBG Kew
2010 - 2012 Assistant Botanist, Palms and Pandans Team, Herbarium, RBG Kew
2008 - 2010 Science Assistant to Head of Science Policy and Coordination, RBG Kew
2007 - 2008 Micropropagation Assistant, Conservation Biotechnology Unit, RBG Kew
Qualifications
2008 PhD in Orchid Phylogenetics, University of East Anglia and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
2003 MSc in Plant Diversity (Taxonomy and Evolution), University of Reading
2002 MA in Plant Sciences (Natural Sciences Tripos), University of Cambridge
Key publications
- Gardiner, L.M. (2019) Cambridge University Herbarium: rediscovering a botanical treasure trove. Journal of Natural Science Collections 6: 31-47. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3603520
- Cornish, C, … LM Gardiner et al. (2020) Between Metropole and Province: circulating botany in British museums, 1870–1940. Archives of Natural History 47(1): 124-146 doi: 10.3366/anh.2020.0627
- Ralimanana, H, … LM Gardiner et al. (2022). Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities. Science. 378, adf1466. doi: 10.1126/science.adf1466
- Antonelli, A, … LM Gardiner et al. (2022). Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use. Science. 378, eabf0869. doi: 10.1126/science.abf08
- Brummitt, NA, … LM Gardiner et al. (2015) Green plants in the red: a baseline global assessment for the Sampled Red List Index for Plants. PLoS One 10(8): e0135152 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135152
