Miriam is a Research Fellow in the Department of Botany at Trinity College Dublin, where she currently works on The Witness Trees Project in collaboration with the Trinity College Botanic Garden. This long-term monitoring project assesses a large variety of tree species and their physiological responses to rising CO₂ levels and pollution.
Alongside her work in modern botany, Miriam specialises in using fossil plants to reconstruct climates, environments, and plant physiology in deep time. She has particular expertise in extinct south polar forest biomes and their plants. Miriam has been awarded an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship and will commence the POLARIS project in October 2025.
Miriam completed her PhD in 2024 at the University of Adelaide, Australia, where her research focused on plants from the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum in Tasmania, Australia. During her PhD, Miriam also worked as a field manager conducting botanical surveys on Kangaroo Island, Australia, to assess the recovery of vegetation after bushfires.
Before joining Trinity College Dublin, Miriam held a research position at the Museum of Nature South Tyrol (Naturmuseum Südtirol) in Bolzano, Italy. She completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Geosciences at the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany, and spent an ERASMUS+ year at Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History (Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet).
Otherwise, Miriam is passionate about conservation and climate action. When she is not botanising, she likes to spend her time on horseback or in the water, snorkelling and surfing.
Selected Awards and Honours
- University of Adelaide Research Medal, University of Adelaide, Australia (2025)
- Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence, University of Adelaide, Australia (2024).
- Mace bearer, University of Adelaide, Australia (2024).
- Thomas Dutro, Jr. Award; Paleontological Research Institution, USA (2022)
- Eichler Research Grant; Australasian Systematic Botany Society, Australia (2021)
- Gostralia!/ University of Adelaide PhD scholarship, Australia (2020–2024)
- Gary Lane Award, Paleontological Society, USA (2018)