Julia is the second PhD student to graduate from the Smith Lab. Her thesis work focused on the Datureae clade of Solanceae, for which she created a new comprehensive multi-locus phylogeny, conducted analyses of niche evolution, and traced the transition from fleshy to dry fruits. She also undertook at biogeographic analyses of the entire Solanaceae (published here) with our great collaborators, Nick Matzke, Lynn Bohs, Sandy Knapp, Tiina Särkinen and Dick Olmstead. See also a press release about this paper from GBIF. You can watch her full exit talk here and see pictures of the post-talk reception here.