Karina Guo

Karina Guo is a Technical Officer Biodiversity Genomics at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney and brings her expertise in bioinformatics and database management to support various projects. This includes the Garden’s ambitious Restore and Renew program and the overall operations of the Research Centre for Ecosystem Resilience (ReCER) team. 

Having recently completed her Honours degree in Ecology as part of her Bachelor of Advanced Science, Karina has developed specific skills in bioinformatics, which is the application of tools of computation and analysis to the capture and interpretation of biological data. Her expertise has led her to be dubbed the "database queen" for her proficiency in managing and analysing genetic data.  

Karina’s workday is dynamic and ever-changing, as her tasks evolve alongside the developing projects. Plant sample preparation for genetic testing and code improvement for the Restore and Renew webtool are key components of her work. 

One of Karina's most satisfying work accomplishments stems from a seemingly mundane task; scanning and stocktaking every plant sample collected over the course of a year. Seeing all the samples organised in their rightful place gave her an amazing sense of achievement. 

What Karina loves most about her job is the opportunity to contribute to the environment she adores while collaborating with an incredible team. She has found fulfilment in integrating computer science into scientific research, particularly through machine learning. Her recent project focused on using machine learning computer vision to analyse digitised herbarium specimens and identify trends in eucalyptus plant material traits like leaf size for ecological studies. 

Driven by a lifelong interest in biology and a particular fondness for botany, Karina found her calling in the field. The uniqueness of plants and their fundamental role in the biosphere have fuelled her passion for botanical research. Her favourite plant is Lambertia formosa, commonly known as Mountain Devil, a shrub of the family Proteaceae, but she also loves pointing out all the acacias she sees to her partner, which hold a special meaning for them.