10/2009 – 09/2012 University Hannover, Germany; Bachelor of Science Biology

10/2012 – 03/2015 University Goettingen, Germany; Master of Science Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution

05/2015 – 07/2023 University Leipzig, Germany; PhD (Dr. rer. nat.)

05/2015 – 08/2023 Research and teaching assistant at Institute of Biology, University Leipzig, Germany

09/2023 – 08/2025 Postdoctoral Researcher, (DIADE) Diversity, Adaptation & Development at IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier, France

Since 11/2025 Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer, Albrecht Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Goettingen, Germany

My research focuses on plant evolution, macroevolution, taxonomy and biogeography, particularly in tropical rainforest lineages. I am interested in how rainforests evolved across space and time, how traits and abiotic factors influenced diversification. Through this, I aim to understand how evolutionary history shaped present-day biodiversity. My focal group is the Mahogany family, Meliaceae, specifically in Southeast Asia, Australasia and the Pacific.  

N. X. Vy, L. Holzmeyer, J. Papenbrock. 2013. New record of the seagrass species Halophila major (Zoll.) Miquel in Vietnam: evidence from leaf morphology and ITS analysis. Botanica Marina 56, 313–321. https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2012-0188

L. Holzmeyer, M. Duretto, D. Crayn, E. Hörandl, M. Heslewood, J. Jayanthan, M.S. Appelhans. 2015. Phylogeny of Acronychia (Rutaceae) and First Insights into Its Historical Biogeography and the Evolution of Fruit Characters. PLOS ONE 10(8): e0136296. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136296.

L. Holzmeyer, A.-K. Hartig, K. Franke, W. Brandt, A.N. Muellner-Riehl, L.A.Wessjohann, J.   Schnitzler. 2020. Evaluation of plant sources for anti-infective lead compound discovery by correlating phylogenetic, spatial, and bioactivity data. PNAS 117(22): 12444-12451.https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1915277117.

L. Holzmeyer, F. Hauenschild, D.J. Mabberley, A.N. Muellner-Riehl. 2021. Confirmed polyphyly, generic recircumscription and typification of Dysoxylum Blume ex Raspail (Meliaceae), with revised disposition of currently accepted species. TAXON 70(6): 1248-1272. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12591.

L. Holzmeyer, F. Hauenschild, A.N. Muellner-Riehl. 2023. Sunda-Sahul floristic exchange and pathways into the Southwest Pacific: new insights from wet tropical forest trees. Journal of Biogeography. Journal of Biogeography 50(7): 1257-1270. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14606.

Sunda-Sahul floristic exchange and pathways into the Southwest Pacific: New insights from wet tropical forest trees. 2023. Holzmeyer, L. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rfj6q57f8.

F. J. Nge, D. M. Johnson, N. A. Murray, L. Holzmeyer, K. Floyd, G. Stull, V. Soule, P. Sepulchre, D. Tardif, C. Rodrigues-Vaz, T. L. P. Couvreur. 2026. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution. Synchronous Miocene radiations and geographic-dependent diversification of pantropical Xylopia (Annonaceae). doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.21.655441.