About Me
As a dedicated professional with a deep passion for plant diversity and its conservation, I specialise in the management and development of living plant collections. I am particularly interested in the application of data-driven and evidence-based tools to improve collection curation and quality, as well as the development of metacollections and collaborative strategies.
My current work includes the design of tools and metrics for visualising and assessing collections using R and GIS. With over 4 years of experience curating Kew’s Living Orchid Collection, I’m now expanding my scope to support a broader range of collections and engage with data curation and strategy at the institutional level. I also enjoy communicating about plant collections and orchid biology and conservation.
Curriculum Vitae
Experience
2024.02 – Present
Living Collection Support Officer
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · London, UK (Hybrid)
- Supporting curation and strategic development of the Living Collection.
- Working across horticulture and science to implement data-led approaches.
- Tools: R, data curation pipelines, collection analysis, GIS integration.
2020.09 – 2024.02
Botanical Horticulturist and Curator – Living Orchid Collection
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · London, UK
- Curation, development, and maintenance of Kew’s Living Orchid Collection.
- In vitro propagation techniques, including mycorrhiza isolation.
- Student training (Kew Diploma and apprentices).
- Designed R-based workflows for analysis of collection metrics and gap analysis.
- Field experience: collecting trip to Cambodia (2023).
2019.09 – 2020.08
Kew Specialist Certificate – Orchid Cultivation
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · London, UK
- Horticultural course focused on orchid biology, propagation, and conservation.
2018.09 – 2019.05
Master Thesis Student – Spinach Germplasm Research
Wageningen Plant Research · The Netherlands
- Thesis on spinach domestication and breeding (2 peer-reviewed publications).
- Collaboration between Plant Breeding Lab and CGN.
2018.09 – 2018.10
Graduate Teaching Assistant – Advanced Statistics
Wageningen University & Research · The Netherlands
- Delivered support for BSc/MSc statistics course (60 hours).
Education
MSc Plant Biotechnology (Cum Laude)
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) · Netherlands
2017.09 – 2019.06 and 2022.08 – 2023.06
- Spinach germplasm thesis (CGN) and fungal metabarcoding at Kew.
- Consultancy project on plant-based explosive detection for Dutch Ministry of Defence.
BSc Biotechnology (Cum Laude)
Rovira i Virgili University (URV) · Spain
2013.09 – 2017.06
Publications
- Ribera, A. et al. (2020). A review on the genetic resources, domestication and breeding history of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). Euphytica. DOI: 10.1007/s10681-020-02585-y
- Ribera, A. et al. (2020). On the origin and dispersal of cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. DOI: 10.1007/s10722-020-01042-y
- Aktas, G.B., Ribera, A., et al. (2021). DNA immobilization and detection using DNA binding proteins. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. DOI: 10.1007/s00216-021-03162-5
Skills & Tools
- Living Collections · Collection management and curation · Living Collection databases
- R programming · Data visualisation · Collection analysis
- GIS & Mapping tools · ArcGIS · FieldMaps · Survey123
- Photography software · Photoshop · Lightroom
- In vitro propagation · Orchid propagation · Mycorrhizal culture techniques
- Education & Training · Scientific writing · Teaching · Horticultural training
Languages