Narjes Yousefi defended her doctoral thesis on evolution in peatmosses this Monday. In her work Narjes show examples of how new species form partly due to ecological processes. She also showed us how morphology (physical appearance) and molecular methods can be combined in order to explore how evolutionary differences underpin differences in growth habits, and how much of the observed differences in morphology is due to the environment and how much is genetically determined.

It was a fascinating presentation, at the end of which Narjes was rewarded with her doctorate. We would like to thank Professor Bernard Goffinet and Dr/Amanuensis Sanna Hutunen for their attendance, and Michael Martin for hosting the disputation. We wish Dr Yousefi all the best in the future. Thank you Narjes for four great years.