#  Lab Members 

 



\[\[{"fid":"332166","view\_mode":"default","type":"media","attributes":{"height":"56","width":"59","class":"media-element file-default"}}\]\] [Harvard Home](http://www.harvard.edu/) | [OEB Home](http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/) | [Kramer Lab Home](http://hwpi.harvard.edu/kramerlab)

[](www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/)



 

##  Principle Investigator 

 



  [### Elena Kramer

 ](/people/elena-kramer) <ekramer@oeb.harvard.edu>Principal Investigator

Bussey Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

Harvard College Professor

 

 

 My lab is very broadly interested in the evolution of floral morphology. We use molecular, morphological, and phylogenetic approaches to study how flowers have changed over the course of evolutionary time. Research projects in the lab cover a diverse set... 

 

 

      ![Elena Kramer](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/kramerlab/files/elena_kramer-2018.jpg?itok=W50n_mpt) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

   ![Kramer Lab banner](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/kramerlab/files/kramer_header_v6_1.jpg?itok=Q7tHETUR) 

 



 



 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

##  Graduate Students 

 



  [### Andrea Appleton

 ](/people/andrea-appleton) <aappleton@g.harvard.edu>Graduate Student

 

 

 I am a botanist and evolutionary biologist interested broadly in the evolution and development of angiosperms and particularly in the evolution of floral morphological diversity. My graduate work focuses on the evolution of novel floral structures called... 

 

 

      ![Andrea Appleton](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/kramerlab/files/appleton.photo_.2020.jpeg?itok=qanmEv_F) 

 

 

 

   [### Fitz Dougherty

 ](/people/fitz-dougherty) <jdougherty@g.harvard.edu>Graduate Student

 

 

 Microscopic pore complexes perform a variety of essential functions for plants, such as regulating gas exchange and secreting nectar. I am interested in exploring the development and physiology of nectarostomata, which secrete nectar, in comparison with... 

 

 

      ![Graduate student Fitz Dougherty](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-01/Fitz%20Dougherty%20Kramer%20Lab%20Headshot.png?itok=NzjIbRAR) 

 

 

 

   [### Lucas Funaro

 ](/people/lucas-funaro) [lucas\_funaro@fas.harvard.edu](mailto:lucas_funaro@fas.harvard.edu)Graduate Student

 

 

 

      ![Profile picture of graduate student Lucas Funaro](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-10/Lucas%20Funaro%20crop.jpeg?itok=ECOT73pW) 

 

 

 

   [### Sebastian Martinez-Salazar

 ](/people/sebastian-martinez-salazar) <smartinezsalazar@g.harvard.edu>Graduate Student

 

 

 I am an evolutionary-developmental biologist broadly interested in understanding molecular mechanisms responsible for the evolution of plant form. I completed my undergraduate and master's dissertations at the University of Antioquia in Colombia, studying... 

 

 

      ![Sebastian Martinez-Salazar](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/kramerlab/files/20230619_171401.jpg?itok=bLC8xauF) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

##  Undergraduate Students 

 



  [### Elizabeth Miri

 ](/people/elizabeth-miri) [elizabeth\_miri@college.harvard.edu](mailto:elizabeth_miri@college.harvard.edu)Undergraduate Student

 

 

 Elizabeth is a sophomore in Lowell House studying Folklore &amp; Mythology with a secondary in Integrative Biology. Her research focus is on botanical science, including flower morphology and fruit development. She loves all things botanical, and when she isn... 

 

 

      ![Profile picture of Harvard undergraduate student Elizabeth Miri](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-02/Elizabeth%20Miri%20Picture_0.jpg?itok=tCsXgd0d) 

 

 

 

   [### Teo Cooper

 ](/people/teo-cooper) <teocooper232@gmail.com>Undergraduate Student

 

 

 Teo's research interests include plant morphology 

 

 

      ![Harvard undergraduate student, Teo Cooper](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-08/Teo%20Cooper.jpg?itok=rAO2mMOx) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

##  Staff 

 



  [### Erin Ciccone

 ](/people/erin-ciccone) <eciccone@oeb.harvard.edu>Staff 

 

 

 As the administrative assistant for the Kramer Lab, I am responsible for handling clerical, financial and daily operations of the lab. 

 

 

      ![Erin Ciccone profile picture](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/kramerlab/files/erin_profile_pic_05.2023.jpg?itok=av4xsgAi) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

##  Lab Mascots 

 



  [### Charlie Kramer

 ](/people/charlie-kramer)Lab Mascot

 

 

 Research Interests: Chaos Theory, Characterization of in situ root architecture, asking to go outside, and squirrels are OK too 

 

 

      ![Kramer Lab mascot, Charlie](/sites/g/files/omnuum6406/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-08/Charlie%2004.29.20.png?itok=ALhIMBS4)