Santosh Rana Magar

Bio

Assistant Professor Dr. Santosh Kumar Rana Magar earned his Ph.D. in Botany with a specialization in plant molecular and evolutionary biology. He has research and professional experience in Asia and North America, focusing on plant ecology, taxonomy, and conservation.
Before joining Youngstown State University, Dr. Magar worked as a postdoctoral scholar at The Pennsylvania State University and as a postdoctoral research associate at Arkansas State University. His work has combined herbarium-based taxonomy, ecological modeling, and genomic approaches to understand plant adaptation, biodiversity, and invasion dynamics.

Research Interests

Dr. Magar’s research lies at the intersection of plant ecology, evolution, and conservation. He focuses on invasion biology, conservation genomics, and the evolutionary processes that shape biodiversity across native and non-native ranges. His work integrates molecular tools, population genomics, transcriptomics, and ecological niche modeling to investigate plant adaptation, speciation, and genomic responses to climate change. He has studied threatened Himalayan medicinal plants, grassland and federal noxious weed wild sugarcane in the United States, and high-altitude alpine taxa, with the goal of linking fundamental evolutionary insights to applied conservation and management.

Teaching Interests

Dr. Magar currently teaches Field Botany and is committed to providing students with experiential, field-based learning opportunities. His broader teaching interests include plant ecology, biodiversity and conservation, invasion biology, and evolutionary botany. He emphasizes active learning, scientific inquiry, and connecting classroom concepts with field and laboratory experiences.