Ryan Brooks, 2025 GCA Scholar, Studies Molecular Fidelity in Endangered Oaks

GCA Scholarship Fosters Research Using Advanced Sequencing at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

October 22, 2025

Ryan Brooks, a Biological Sciences master's student at University of Cincinnati, received the GCA’s 2025 Catherine H. Beattie Fellowship in Conservation Horticulture to conduct critical technological conservation research on endangered oaks. 

Working at the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Brooks is using next-generation sequencing technology to study endangered oak species. His research aims to understand the molecular impacts of cryopreservation and tissue culture—methods used to bank plant material—on the epigenome (the "operating manual" of the plant's DNA).

Brooks' goal is to pinpoint which conservation steps may be causing epigenetic changes in the oak tissues. The findings will directly inform future projects and help ensure the integrity of the tissues stored in the CREW CryoBioBank.

"This scholarship has greatly improved the scope of my work, allowing us to use next-generation sequencing to better understand how our ex situ conservation methods may be impacting the plants on a molecular level," Brooks explains.

Brooks is one of 119 recipients in the GCA’s 2025 Scholars class, which awarded a record $533,000 to young professionals in fields like urban forestry, ecological restoration, and native bird habitat. The GCA offers 29 different merit-based scholarships. The Catherine H. Beattie Fellowship, which provides up to $4,500 annually, is awarded to graduate students working to promote conservation of rare and endangered flora in the US.