Dr. Weeks’ research focuses on the systematics, historical biogeography, and evolution of flowering plants, particularly those within the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. She is interested in testing hypotheses regarding how plant lineages are related, how their extant geographic distributions became established over time, and how their morphological and physiological features evolved. Her studies rely on both molecular data gathered in the laboratory and morphological observations gathered in the field and the herbarium. She also conducts molecular phylogeographic studies of single species to inform taxonomic decisions, establish conservation priorities for vulnerable taxa, and investigate the history of domestication for cultivated species. Dr. Weeks is also director of the Ted R. Bradley Herbarium at George Mason University and is engaged in making this valuable resource of information about the Virginia flora available to the public via the Internet.