Jeanmaire Molina

Personal Quote

"Every scrap of biological diversity is priceless, to be learned and cherished, and never to be surrendered without a struggle." -Edward O. Wilson

Faculty Bio

I am a plant evolutionary biologist fascinated by the most peculiar plants like the giant corpse flower and parasitic plant, Rafflesia, and everything about its enigmatic biology! I am also a college educator committed to increasing appreciation of these plants for their vital and inextricable, yet often overlooked roles in human lives.

PhD, Rutgers University, New Brunswcik, NJ, 2009
Ecology & Evolution

BS, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 2001
Biology

Research Interest

My research interests encompass plant evolution, community ecology, conservation, and ethnobotany. The versatility of phylogenetics in elucidating plant evolutionary relationships, understanding the mechanisms that have produced current plant distributions, as well as its application in community ecology and herbal medicine, make it indispensable to my research. The questions I explore often span basic biological processes and applied solutions, bridging academic inquiry with societal impact. This work is driven by a desire to preserve endangered plant species through interdisciplinary approaches while using my platform as college teacher to cultivate student interests in biodiversity science. The diversity of my research projects also makes it easy for students to find a project that suits their interests, from basic plant biological research to more applied studies such as herbal medicine.

Grants, Sponsored Research and Contracts

• Ex Situ Propagation of Rafflesiaceae at USBG and In Situ Cultivation of Philippine Rafflesia
Molina, J. 2023 - 2025. US Botanic Garden, Federal. .

Metabolites and microbes of Tetrastigma: the ecology of host choice in Rafflesia and potential applications in ex situ conservation
Molina, J. 2022 - 2024. National Science Foundation, Federal. Funded.

Past Courses

BIO 101: General Biology I
BIO 102: General Biology II
BIO 231: Genetics
BIO 296: Topic: Medicinal Botany
BIO 346: Intro to Basic Pharmacology
BIO 395: Independent Study in Biology
BIO 480: Research in Biology

Publications

Microbes and metabolites of a plant-parasite interaction: Deciphering the ecology of Tetrastigma host choice in the world’s largest parasitic flower, Rafflesia
Molina, J., de Guzman, R. C., Abzalimov, R., Huang, W., Guruprasad, A., Pedales, R., Wicaksono, A., Davis, D., Callado, J. R., Bänziger, H., Suksathan, P., Eaton, W., Yin, P., Bürger, M., Erickson, M., Jones, S., Adams, J. & Pell, S. (2025). Current Plant Biology. Vol 42 , pages 100456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpb.2025.100456

The seed transcriptome of Rafflesia reveals horizontal gene transfer and convergent evolution: Implications for conserving the world's largest flower
Molina, J., Wicaksono, A., Michael, T. P., Kwak, S., Pedales, R. D., Joly‐Lopez, Z., Petrus, S., Mamerto, A., Tomek, B., Ahmed, S., Maddu, V., Yakubova, K., Tandang, D., Morin, J. W., Park, S., Lee, H., McLaughlin, W., Wallick, K., Adams, J., Novy, A., Pell, S. & Purugganan, M. D. (2025). PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET. Vol 7 (Issue 2) , pages 448-466. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10370

Hairpin in a haystack: In silico identification and characterization of plant-conserved microRNA in Rafflesiaceae
Wicaksono, A., Meitha, K., Wan, K., Mat Isa, M. N., Parikesit, A. A. & Molina, J. (2025). Open Life Sciences. Vol 20 (Issue 1) https://doi.org/10.1515/biol-2022-1033

The endophyte’s endophytes: the microbial partners of the endangered plant parasite Rafflesia speciosa (Rafflesiaceae) reveal clues about its cryptic biology and cues for cultivation
Molina, J., de Guzman, R. C., Wicaksono, A., Muth, T., Pedales, R., Diaz, D., Kusuma, A. B., Li, C., Margolis, H., Karnitskiy, F., Estopace, A., Atanelov, P., Bukhbinder, M., Tandang, D., Callado, J. R., Morin, J. W., Fontanilla, I., Davis, D., Jones, S., Erickson, M., Adams, J., Wallick, K., Kidwell-Slak, D., Novy, A. & Pell, S. (2024). Journal of Plant Interactions. Vol 19 (Issue 1) https://doi.org/10.1080/17429145.2024.2304221

Living with a giant, flowering parasite: metabolic differences between Tetrastigma loheri Gagnep. (Vitaceae) shoots uninfected and infected with Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae) and potential applications for propagation
Molina, J., Nikolic, D., Jeevarathanam, J. R., Abzalimov, R., Park, E., Pedales, R., Mojica, E. E., Tandang, D., McLaughlin, W., Wallick, K., Adams, J., Novy, A., Pell, S. K., van Breemen, R. B. & Pezzuto, J. M. (2022). Planta. Vol 255 (Issue 1) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-021-03787-x

A Toxic Story: Phylogeny and Classification of Strychnos L. (Loganiaceae)
Setubal, R. B., Frasier, C. L., Molina, J., Torke, B. M., Forzza, R. C. & Struwe, L. (2021). Systematic Botany. Vol 46 (Issue 3) , pages 639-655. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364421x16312067913444

A Plant within a Plant: Insights on the Development of the Rafflesia Endophyte within its Host
Wicaksono, A., Mursidawati, S. & Molina, J. (2021). The Botanical Review. Vol 87 (Issue 2) , pages 233-242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-020-09236-w

Leveraging Phytochemicals: The Plant Phylogeny Predicts Sources of Novel Antibacterial Compounds
Prasad, M. A., Zolnik, C. P. & Molina, J. (2019). Future Science OA. Vol 5 (Issue 7) https://doi.org/10.2144/fsoa-2018-0124

DNA barcoding of online herbal supplements: crowd-sourcing pharmacovigilance in high school
Molina, J., Sherpa, C., Ng, J., Sonam, T. & Stuhr, N. (2018). Open Life Sciences. Vol 13 (Issue 1) , pages 48-55. https://doi.org/10.1515/biol-2018-0007

The predictive utility of the plant phylogeny in identifying sources of cardiovascular drugs
Guzman, E. & Molina, J. (2018). Pharmaceutical Biology. Vol 56 (Issue 1) , pages 154-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/13880209.2018.1444642

DNA Barcoding of Philippine Herbal Medicinal Products
Pedales, R. D., Damatac, A. M., Limbo, C. A., Marquez, C. M., Navarro, A. I. & Molina, J. (2016). Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL. Vol 99 (Issue 6) , pages 1479-1489. https://doi.org/10.5740/jaoacint.16-0185

The ethnobotany of psychoactive plant use: a phylogenetic perspective
Alrashedy, N. A. & Molina, J. (2016). PeerJ. Vol 4 , pages e2546. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2546

The nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) as a practical plant DNA barcode for herbal medicines
Michel, C., Meyer, R. S., Taveras, Y. & Molina, J. (2016). Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Vol 3 (Issue 3) , pages 94-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmap.2016.02.002

Phylogeny of medicinal plants depicts cultural convergence among immigrant groups in New York City
Xavier, C. & Molina, J. (2016). Journal of Herbal Medicine. Vol 6 (Issue 1) , pages 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hermed.2015.12.002

Possible Loss of the Chloroplast Genome in the Parasitic Flowering Plant Rafflesia lagascae (Rafflesiaceae)
Molina, J., Hazzouri, K. M., Nickrent, D., Geisler, M., Meyer, R. S., Pentony, M. M., Flowers, J. M., Pelser, P., Barcelona, J., Inovejas, S. A., Uy, I., Yuan, W., Wilkins, O., Michel, C., LockLear, S., Concepcion, G. P. & Purugganan, M. D. (2014). Molecular Biology and Evolution. Vol 31 (Issue 4) , pages 793-803. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msu051

Natural selection in gene-dense regions shapes the genomic pattern of polymorphism in wild and domesticated rice
, . & Molina, J. (2012).

Phylogeography of Asian wild rice, Oryza rufipogon: a genome‐wide view
HUANG, P., Molina, J., FLOWERS, J. M., RUBINSTEIN, S., JACKSON, S. A., PURUGGANAN, M. D. & SCHAAL, B. A. (2012). Molecular Ecology. Vol 21 (Issue 18) , pages 4593-4604. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2012.05625.x

Molecular evidence for a single evolutionary origin of domesticated rice
Molina, J., Sikora, M., Garud, N., Flowers, J. M., Rubinstein, S., Reynolds, A., Huang, P., Jackson, S., Schaal, B. A., Bustamante, C. D., Boyko, A. R. & Purugganan, M. D. (2011). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol 108 (Issue 20) , pages 8351-8356. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1104686108

Migration, isolation and hybridization in island crop populations: the case of Madagascar rice
MATHER, K. A., Molina, J., Molina, J. M., RUBINSTEIN, S., RAUH, B. L., LAWTON‐RAUH, A., CAICEDO, A. L., McNALLY, K. L. & PURUGGANAN, M. D. (2010). Molecular Ecology. Vol 19 (Issue 22) , pages 4892-4905. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04845.x