Melissa Johnson, UH Hilo Biology Department alumna and "Outstanding Senior Biology Major 2008" has just published her first peer-reviewed, lead-author paper, "Postzygotic barriers isolate sympatric species of Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) in Hawaiian montane forest understories." The paper, which was coauthored by members of the Departments of Biology and Geography, is highlighted as an "Editor's choice" article in the November 2015 issue of the American Journal of Botany. The paper results from her M.S. thesis in UH Hilo's TCBES Graduate Program, which she defended in 2011. Currently, Melissa is continuing her studies on Cyrtandra as a Ph.D. candidate at Claremont Graduate University.