Nélida Abarca

Dr. Nélida Abarca is a diatom researcher and curator at the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, where she is responsible for the algae collections, including the Friedrich Hustedt Diatom Collection. Her research focuses on diatom diversity, taxonomy and evolution, combining modern molecular approaches with the study of historical collections. She is particularly interested in connecting specimens, scientific history and living biodiversity to understand how our knowledge of these microscopic organisms has changed over time.