Samantha Yap is committed to preserving and studying a wide range of unique and threatened species.
Samantha holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology with Honours and completed her PhD, focusing on the contrasting patterns in the Sunda/Sahul lineages in Australian rainforests. She leads a team at the Gardens that coordinates a range of conservation genomic studies for the Saving Our Species program, providing practical support for species management actions. She also contributes to a significant rainforest study, applying genetic, distributional, environmental, and climatic data to better understand the assembly of – and changes to – rainforest communities over time.
Samantha takes pride in her team's achievements; they are passionate about developing effective genomic tools to assist Threatened Species Officers in their efforts to manage and safeguard species, and have secured funding and conducted studies on over 60 rare and threatened species.
Notably, Samantha received an Australian Flora Foundation grant to study the genetic diversity of Rhodamnia rubescens, an Australian rainforest species severely impacted by Myrtle Rust. Through her research, she aims to optimise diversity in seed collections and contribute to the preservation of vulnerable plants.
One of Samantha's favourite plant-related memories involves extracting Wollemi Pine chloroplast DNA – using a blender – during her honours research. This experience with her then-supervisor, who is now her manager, symbolises the collaborative and exciting nature of her work.
Driven by her desire to apply genomic data to improve species knowledge, Samantha is optimistic about contributing to conservation efforts, the future for biodiversity, and ultimately our ability to save precious plant species.