Sebastian Mortimer joined the lab in September, 2020, and will be working on sex chromosome evolution in the octoploid strawberries. A native of Moscow, Idaho, he did his undergraduate studies at Willamette University, where he worked with Dr. Susan Kephart on Camassia (Agavaceae). He returned to Idaho and completed a MSc with Dr. David Tank, studying the phylogenetics of the genus Lamourouxia (Orobanchaceae). He then moved to the University of Montana where he worked as a technician in the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Good studying mammal evolution. This led to an interest in sex chromosome evolution, as well as a desire to return to working with plants.