Dr Rhian Smith

Senior Science Editor

Portrait photograph of female in front of trees.
Specialism

Scientific editing and writing, strategic planning, project management, conservation genetics, phylogenetics, ecology.

My role as Senior Science Editor is to support the Director of Science in the development of strategic documents and to provide rigorous scientific review and editing of major internal and external documents and academic papers. This has involved compiling, editing and managing the production of key strategic documents, including Kew's Science Strategy, Science Collections Strategy and State of the World's Plants and Fungi.

I also coordinate the Director of Science’s research programme, which involves strategic planning, management of the budget and research group, coordination of scientific projects, and contributing to the writing and editing of key research papers.

My research interests are in conservation genetics, phylogenetics, and the evolution of Haemodoraceae.

  • PhD, Trinity College Dublin, 2004
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Statistics (Distinction), 2002
  • BSc (1st Class Hons) Ecology and Environmental Management, Cardiff University, 1997
  • Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders
  • Member of the Working Group for the Atlantic Forest Research and Conservation Alliance
  • Member of Science Advisory Board for The Red List Project

Antonelli, A., Smith, R.J., Perrigo, A. … Ralimanana, H. (2022). 

Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use. 

Science 378: eabf8069. 

Ralimanana, H., Perrigo, A., Smith, R.J. … Antonelli, A. (2022).

Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities. 

Science 378: eadf1466.

Pellegrini, M. O. O., Hickman, E. J., Guttiérrez, J. E., Smith, R. J., & Hopper, S. D. (2020).

Revisiting the taxonomy of the Neotropical Haemodoraceae (Commelinales).

PhytoKeys, 169: 1-59.

Antonelli, A., Smith, R.J. and Simmonds, M.S.J. (2019)

Unlocking the properties of plants and fungi for sustainable development

Nature Plants, 5(11): 1100–1102.

Cowling, R.M., Potts, A.J., Bradshaw, P.L., Colville, J., Arianoutsou, M., Ferrier, S., Forest, F., Fyllas, N.M., Hopper, S. D., Ojeda, F., Proches, S., Smith, R.J., Rundel, P.W., Vassilakis, E. and Zutta, B.R. (2015).

Variation in plant diversity in Mediterranean-climate ecosystems: the role of climatic and topographical stability.

Journal of Biogeography 42: 552–564. 

Smith, R.J., Hopper, S.D. and Shane, M.W. (2011).

Sand-binding roots in Haemodoraceae: global survey and morphology in a phylogenetic context.

Plant and Soil 348: 453–470. 

Hopper, S.D., Smith, R.J., Fay, M.F., Manning, J.C. and Chase, M.W. (2009).

Molecular phylogenetics of Haemodoraceae in the Greater Cape and Southwest Australian Floristic Regions.

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 51: 19–30. 

Get in touch

Email

rhian.smith@kew.org