Dr. Specht attained a PhD from New York University in the joint Plant Resources Program with the New York Botanical Garden and the American Museum of Natural History. Her dissertation research was on the systematics and evolution in the tropical plant family Costaceae . She followed with a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Her areas of research interest focus on the evolution of morpholgical and genetic diversity in tropical plants, with an emphasis on the gingers (Zingiberales) which include bananas, heliconias, bird-of-paradise plants, and ginger itself. She also works on California Alliums along with Heather Driscoll and Nhu Nguyen, and Floral Developmental Evolution along with graduate student Madelaine Bartlett. Her lab supports research on all sorts of monocots (Alliaceae, Ruscaceae, Zingiberales and Aechmea (with graduate student Chodon Sass)), carnivorous plants (see graduate student Tanya Renner), cycads (see graduate student Carolina Gomez), and floral developmental evolution (see graduate students Madelaine Bartlett & Ana Almeida). Dr. Specht also has a background in conservation biology and administration, having worked for the World Wildlife Fund as both Program Officer in the Bolivia Program Office and as Ecoregional Coordinator for the Southwest Amazon Ecoregion.
Dr. Specht teaches Principles of Plant Morphology (C107/107L) and the graduate core course in Plant Evolution and Diversification (PMB200c) in addition to various freshman and graduate seminars.
