Johan Urrea Cardenas, BSc MSc

University assistant (prae doc)
PhD student
3. floor, room 316
t: +43 1 4277 540 61
m: johan.esteban.urrea.cardenas@univie.ac.at

 Title of the Doctoral Thesis

The geographic mosaic of pollination and fruit dispersal as source of diversity in Pyxidantheae (Melastomataceae) 

Research interests


  • Plant systematics, evolution, morphology, and biogeography, mainly focused in Melastomataceae
  • Flower and fruit evolution and diversity
  • Pollination biology in Neotropical Melastomataceae
  • Population biology and ecology
  • Biodiversity conservation

Blakea princeps cultivated in Bogotá, Colombia © Urrea Cardenas

Front view of Blakea watsonii from Boyacá, Colombia © Urrea Cardenas

Front view of Blakea sp. nov from Santander, Colombia © Urrea Cardenas

 Curriculum Vitae

Current position

  • 2024– University assistent (prae doc)

Education and scientific career

  • 2024– PhD in Biology, University of Vienna
  • 2023–2024 MSc in Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
  • 2018–2023 BSc in Biology, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
  • 2011–2017 Secondary School, Soacha, Cundinamarca, Colombia

 Selected publications

  • Urrea, J., Mendoza-Cifuentes, H., García, N. (2023). Novedades taxonómicas y sinopsis del género Blakea (Melastomataceae, Pyxidantheae) en la Cordillera Oriental, Colombia. Acta Botánica Mexicana, 130(e172), 1–27.
    doi.org/10.21829/abm128.2021.1924