This post originally appeared on the College of Science website and was published September 12, 2025. This article is republished here with permission.
Above: Phyllis "Lissy" Coley at the newly named Phyllis D. Coley Trail on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Credit: Jorge Aleman
"I first went to Barro Colorado Island in 1975, where I did my thesis, postdoc and many more years of research, most with Tom," says Phyllis "Lissy" Coley, referring to her late partner and colleague in the School of Biological Sciences Tom Kursar. The Island is central to the famed Barro Colorado Nature Monument, the most intensively studied tropical forest in the world.
"The trails," she continues, "were all named after famous biologists, and there was a strong sense that we were building on the legacy of 50 years of pioneering research. It was humbling. And the trail names were how we navigated the island and shared the location of wonders with other researchers. So to have a trail renamed for me is the greatest honor I could possibly receive."
Coley recently returned from the Barro Colorado Island (BCI) where the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), a unit of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Panama City, Panama, furthers the understanding of tropical nature. The occasion? To witness the renaming of seven trails to honor Coley and six others recognized for their dedication, courage and discovery. The Phyllis D. Coley Trail, formerly named for the American Museum of Natural History, is trail #19 (see map).
Of the seven individuals honored, Coley is one of two still living.
100 Years of Research
"The idea to thoughtfully rename a subset of trails gained momentum as we prepared to celebrate 100 years of research on Barro Colorado Island," said STRI Director Joshua Tewksbury who emcee'd the hybrid (in-person/online) event August 31. "But it took a truly dedicated team to make this vision a reality. ...These trails will now carry their names and with them, their stories. As we walk them, we’ll remember not just what they did, but who they were and are — their courage, their curiosity, their care. This is more than a tribute. It’s a promise. A promise to keep their legacies alive, to continue the work they started, and to ensure that future generations know the names of those who make this place extraordinary."
Of Coley, Tewksbury said that her "research on plant defenses reshaped our understanding of biodiversity, [and] continues to inspire new generations of scientists. Her work links rainforest health to human health — a reminder of how deeply connected we all are."
A Distinguished Professor Emerita of Biology at the University of Utah, Coley is a current STRI Research Associate. She began her career on BCI as a doctoral student, drawn to the rich biodiversity and intense biotic interactions of tropical rainforests.
In the early 1980s, she conducted pioneering research on key ecological questions: how plants that are using the same resources can coexist in hyper-diverse communities, and why such diversity evolved. Her influential "Resource Availability Hypothesis" reshaped scientists' understanding of the trade-offs plants face when investing in defense.
Linking Rainforest Health With Human Health
"This foundational research," wrote STRI staff scientist Erin Spear when seeking approval for the naming honor on Coley's behalf, "led to the launch of the Panama-based International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG), a drug-discovery initiative that assessed whether the array of chemical compounds plants produce to prevent being eaten could be harnessed to treat tropical diseases, such as malaria and leishmaniasis — linking the health of Earth’s dwindling rainforests to human health. The ICBG also strengthened Panama’s scientific community by training students, building research infrastructure, and eventually integrating into the national institute INDICASAT," a research institute in Panama City. "Coley’s prolific and inspiring career continues through the many researchers she mentored."
Coley's partner Tom Kursar who died in 2018 accompanied Coley for years to BCI to plumb the depths of cutting-edge research into tropical forestry and its importance to human welfare while training students to conduct research in the tropics. The duo established their own foundation to bridge their own resources in the U.S. with those of Panama's to promote, along with STRI, its mission to understand the "present and past biological diversity by increasing public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems."
The Coley-Kursar Endowment in the U's School of Biological Sciences celebrates the legacy of ecological research and graduate student training by Coley and Kursar whose outreach with communities in Central and South America is legendary. The endowed funds support graduate students conducting field studies.
'Tromping the Trails'
Coley is deeply moved by the trail naming. She references the iconic, seemingly eternal giant Anacardium (wild cashew) root snaking across the stream and trail, now named for her. "I am in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the National Academy of Sciences," she says, "but those honors pale in comparison to having ‘my trail’ in the beautiful forest that filled me with wonder and shaped my career."
That wonder with which she reconnected during her recent trip to her beloved Panama for the event was especially meaningful this time. She was able to scatter the ashes of her beloved partner at the site, bringing Tom full circle to the place they worked in and cherished together.
"Fifty years ago I walked on trails named for pioneering scientists who worked 50 years before me," says Coley. "And I hope in 50 years there will still be scientists tromping the trails, and that some might admire that marvelous Anacardium root crossing Coley Trail at 150m."