EDUCATION
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Botany and Plant Pathology Ph. D. Candidate (Qualifying Exam May 23, 2017) Fall 2014- Present
Expected Graduation: Fall 2019 “Landscape Genomics of Cedrela odorata”
Hendrix College, Conway, AR; Class of 2013
Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Spanish with honors and distinction in Biology
Independent Study in Biology: Population Genetics of Ponderosa Pine; Fall 2011
International Study at Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain; Summer 2012
AWARDS
- Halse-Kentula Travel Award; $200.00; 2019
- Anita Summers Travel Award;$1,000.00;2018
- Moldenke Fund for Plant Systematics;$1,499.48; 2018
- Oregon Lottery Scholarship; $2,148.00; 2017-2018
- Anita Summers Travel Award; $725.02; 2017
- Graduate Student Travel Award (Oregon State Graduate School); $1,000.00; 2017
- Bob Anderson Memorial Student Scholarship (Society for Wildlife Forensic Science);$793.68;2017
- Moldenke Fund for Plant Systematics;$1,083.00; 2016
- Hardman Research Grant; $720.00; 2015
RESEARCH POSITIONS
National Center for Genome Resources – New Mexico INBRE Bioinformatics Internship Santa Fe, NM; A seven-week intensive bioinformatics internship. June-July 2016
United States Fish and Wildlife Service Forensic Lab – Ashland, OR; Volunteer; Trained as a technician with security clearance for the Direct Analysis in Real Time (Time of Flight) Mass Spectrometer; 2015-Present
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden – Miami, FL; Conservation Research and Records Intern 2013-14; Paid 11-month internship. Specific Projects:
- the assembly of a complete digital Flora of the Yucatan Peninsula for field use
- development of the garden specific user tutorial for ArcGIS 10
- design of an Everglades National Park rare plant survey guide for the Institute for Regional Conservation
- completion of a digital Wild Plant Collections Guide for Horticulturalists with specific locations, life stage inventory, and distinguishing photographs
- phylogenetic analysis of Cuban endemic genus Bonania
- phylogenetic analysis of Hispaniola endemic Salvia species which led to a publication
- “DNA Extraction from Wood (family Meliaceae) and Applications for the Conservation of Global Biodiversity”
PUBLICATIONS
K. Finch, A. Jones, R. Cronn. 2019. Genomic resources for the Neotropical tree genus Cedrela (Meliaceae) and its relatives. BMC Genomics. 2019 20:58
K. Finch. 2018. Dataset for genomic resources for the neotropical tree genus Cedrela (Meliaceae) and its relatives. Oregon State University Scholars Archive. https://doi.org/10.7267/NV935820Q
K. Finch, E. Espinoza, A. Jones, R. Cronn. 2017. Source identification of western Oregon Douglas-fir wood cores using Mass Spectrometry and Random Forest Classification. Applications in Plant Sciences 2017 5(5): 1600158Deklerck,
K. Finch, P. Gasson, J. Van den Bulcke, J. Van Acker J, H. Beeckman, E. Espinoza. Comparison of species classification models of mass spectrometry data: Kernel Discriminant Analysis vs. Random Forest; A case study of Afrormosia (Pericopsis elata(Harms) Meeuwen).Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 2017. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.7939
Willyard, D. Gernandt, K. Potter, V. Hipkins, P. Marquardt, M. Mahalovich, S. Langer, F. Telewski, B. Cooper, C. Douglas, K. Finch, .H. Karemera, J. Lefler, P. Lea, and A. Wofford. 2016. Pinus ponderosa: A checkered past obscured four species. American Journal of Botany Vol. 103, Issue 12
S.Zona, K. Finch, T. Clase, and B. Jestrow. 2016. A synopsis of Salvia sect. Gardoquiiflorae (Lamiaceae), with a note on the origins of Caribbean Salvia species. Phytotaxa Vol. 255, Issue 3
A.Wofford, K. Finch, A. Bigott, and A. Willyard. 2014. A Set of Plastid Loci for Use in Multiplex Fragment Length Genotyping for Intraspecific Variation in Pinus (Pinaceae). Applications in Plant Sciences Vol. 2, Issue 5
PRESENTATIONS
Predicting Spanish Cedar (Cedrela odorata; Meliaceae) Origin with 144 SNPs. 13 January 2019; Plant and Animal Genomes Conference, San Diego, CA
Using ex‐situ collections to disentangle a Cedrela ‐ Toona sandwich. 25 July 2018; Botanical Society of America meeting, Rochester, MN
POSTER: Science outreach through college radio: Inspiration Dissemination, a case study;23 July 2018; Botanical Society of America meeting, Rochester, MN
Source identification of western Oregon Douglas-fir wood cores using molecular abundance data and SNPs. 26 June 2017; Botanical Society of America meeting, Fort Worth, TX
Intraspecific source identification of western Oregon Douglas-fir wood cores using mass spectrometry and random forest classification (& SNPs!). 8 June 2017; Society of Wildlife Forensic Science meeting Scotland, UK
Source Identification of Wood; 4 May 2017; Botany and Plant Pathology Spring Seminar Series
Dissertation Proposal Seminar: Phylogeography and Population Genomics of the genus Cedrela, and Genomic Resources for Six Sympatric Species Across its Southern Distribution; 8 December 2016; Botany and Plant Pathology Fall Seminar Series
Phytochemical analysis of timbers using Direct Analyses in Real Time, Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (DART TOFMS). 6 July 2016; Forest Legality Alliance Meeting at World Resources Institute in Washington, DC
Bull’s Eye! Can DART Mass Spectrometry distinguish source origin for western Oregon Douglas-fir wood cores? 5 March 2015; Biology Graduate Student Symposium, Newport, OR
TEACHING
U.S.F.S. International Programs “Taller de Capacitación: Mapeo Especial de la Distribución Genética de Especies Maderables del Perú” with focus given to Cedrela (Meliaceae) Lima, Peru 6-10 August 2018 Instructor/Co-organizer of workshop programing for 20 Peruvian participants. Purpose: share data and software to build capacity for genome sequencing, spatial genetic mapping, and origin prediction for Cedrela timber in Peru. The workshop included a lab demonstration where participants constructed genomic libraries from Illumina sequencing, three days of computer demonstrations focused on spatial mapping, and a half-day meeting to facilitate future collaboration. I prepared and led the lab demonstration, which produced genomic libraries from 20 trees. All data for the computer demonstration were from my dissertation research, and I was responsible to distributing portable versions of software to all participants via flash drives. I was also responsible for two presentations.
U.S.F.S. International Programs, “Advances and Training in Genomics of Cedrela” Corvallis, OR 23-27 April 2018 Instructor/Co-organizer of workshop programing for 6 Peruvian participants. Purpose: invigorate Cedrela research in Peru by providing training in genomic applications to combat illegal logging. The workshop occurred over five days (April 23-27, 2018) in Corvallis, Oregon USA and was specially designed for six Peruvian scientists and one scientist from New Mexico State University who are participating in a project to develop an updated map of genetic diversity in Cedrela odrata (Cedro) and other Cedrela species. Learning modules were based on my dissertation research and included: a hands-on laboratory demonstration for genomic sequencing library preparation, reference-guided chloroplast genome assembly, nuclear genomic analysis, species classification with random forests, and spatial population assignment of specimens to origin with genomic information. The workshop ended with a trip to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forensic Lab in Ashland, Oregon.
OSU BOT 341 Plant Ecology Spring 2019. Co-lead instructor for the lab course. Topics: plant identification, vegetation surveys, quantification of biodiversity, physiological ecology, and pollinator observations. Duties: weekly lecture, training students in ecological survey methods, instruction and assessment of scientific writing, field transportation and safety.
OSU BI 211 Diversity of Life Fall 2014, BI 212 Principles of Biology Winter 2015. Lead and Assistant instructor for labs. Topics: phylogenetics, plant anatomy, animal anatomy, plant and animal dissection, scientific method, experimental design, scientific writing, and basic statistics. Duties: weekly lecture, assessment, and mentorship of undergraduate teaching intern.
OSU BOT 101 Botany: A Human Concern Spring 2015. Lead instructor for assigned labs. Topics: phylogenetics, plant anatomy, plant dissection, and native plant identification. Duties: biweekly lecture, plant collection, and assessment.
SERVICE
Botany and Plant Pathology (BPP) Graduate Student Association (GSA) Treasurer 2015-2017.Duties: management of the GSA checking account and the OSU Foundation Account, chair the application review committee for the Halse-Kentula Travel Award (4 grants are awarded twice annually).
Graduate Student Representative for: Herbarium (OSC) Curator Selection Committee 2015-2016 and BPP Department Head Search Committee 2018. Duties: application review, coordinate forums for graduate students and potential hires, collect graduate student opinions, and provide graduate student recommendation to faculty.
Senior Host, schedule manager, and writer for the award winning weekly radio broadcast (Corvallis 88.7FM) and PODCAST (since 2016), Inspiration Dissemination. Duties: recruit and manage guests, train and manage co-hosts (currently 9; 11 total), co-host 2-5 shows/quarter, manage social media accounts, author/editor of blog. The show features the research and personal story of a different OSU graduate student each week. We support all academic colleges and disciplines. I am currently the largest contributor to the show with 53 episodes. 2015-present www.blogs.oregonstate.edu/inspiration | @kbvrID
OSU GRADx Talks; 22 February 2018; 28 February 2019; Managing Director. Six student presenters share their stories in an 8 to 10-minute engaging format inspired by TEDx. Inspiration Dissemination (ID) co-sponsored the event by mentoring the presenters as they prepare their GRADx talk. As managing director, I coordinate with the event sponsor (OSU Graduate School), nominate presenters, organize meetings for ID mentors and presenters, envision the central theme of the event and set the talk lineup, and act as Master of Ceremony at the event. https://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/gradx
Bolstering Undergraduate Development and Success (BUDS) Program; Undergraduate Mentor (Lettie Morse 2014-15, Josh Saylor 2015-16, Ashley Miller 2017-2018)
Active Participant in Graduate Student Recruitment 2015-2018
Representative of BPP at Discovery Days; Elementary Student Outreach 2014-2018
Volunteer Botanist at Whispering Winds Girl Scout Camp 25 April 2015; Activities included: four 40-minute sessions about plant community ecology, and native plant identification with young scouts (age 5-12).
LANGUAGES
English – native language
Spanish – speak, read, and write with competence
