Page Text: RECENT AWARDS & GRANTS
Supporting Global Research, Discovery & Conservation
The International Aroid Society proudly funds innovative work in aroid research, taxonomy, fieldwork, and conservation through its annual Awards & Grants program.
Open to scientists at all career stages—students to senior researchers—these grants fuel impactful, real-world projects across the globe. From understudied tropical habitats to complex evolutionary questions, IAS-funded efforts help fill critical knowledge gaps and protect aroid diversity for generations to come.
REAL-WORLD IMPACT FROM THE GROUND UP
From Funding to Field: How Grants Translate into Impact
Our grants provide crucial support for:
Biodiversity surveys in underexplored regions
Taxonomic clarification and phylogenetic research
Conservation initiatives and sustainable propagation
Educational outreach and ethical cultivation
Each funded project is selected for its scientific merit, relevance to the aroid community, and potential for broad impact.
RECENT FUNDING HIGHLIGHTS
In the last year, three diverse projects across Asia and the Americas were selected from the 22 proposals submitted worldwide.
Phylogenomics of "Orphan Groups", Understanding the Evolutionary History of Chlorospatha and Xanthosoma
By: Mónica Carlsen, PhD
Location: Missouri Botanical Garden—United States
Purpose: Resolving a longstanding taxonomic puzzle and investigating their historical biogeography.
Impact: Provides a clearer evolutionary framework for two poorly understood genera that may help inform future conservation priorities, particularly for those more susceptible to environmental change.
Alocasia of the Meratus Mountains: Diversity, Ecology, Distribution, and Threat Issues
By: Zainudin Basriansyah Akar, Yayasan Tumbuhan Asli Nusantara Foundation
Location: Indonesia
Purpose: Document species in an isolated and underexplored region as a foundation for conservation efforts
Impact: Fills a critical data gap, supporting future conservation planning amid rising threats from habitat loss and unregulated collection.
The Diversity and Distribution of Aroids (Araceae) in Mt. Makiling, Philippines
By: Phil Anthony Sumabat
Location: University of the Philippines Los Baños
Purpose: Field research on the diversity and distribution of aroids, with focus on the genetic diversity of Amorphophallus longispathaceus
Impact: Generates baseline data on aroids in an underexplored biodiversity hotspot and informs conservation planning, species management, and potential contributions to food security