Dr. Somphouthone Phimmachak

A researcher on the diversity and conservation of in Laos, Dr Somphouthone was already interested in farming as a child. This led her to study agriculture at the National University of Laos (NUoL), but she soon found out that she was more attracted by animals than plants. Thus, she graduated in 2002 with a specialization in animal science.

In 2006, while working at the Living Aquatic Resource Research Center (LARReC) at the National Agriculture and Forestry Institute (NAFRI), established under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, she got the opportunity to write a master thesis in biodiversity focusing on the threatened Lao Warty Newt (Laotriton laoensis). She became the first student to dedicate her thesis to studying the species’ natural history, distribution, and conservation. Thanks to her research the Lao Warty Newt became the first amphibian species officially protected by the Lao government (Lao Official Gazette).

Dr Somphouthone pursued her PhD in biology at Kasetsart University in Thailand, as no such programs were available in Laos. She completed her degree in 2015 and returned to work at the Ministry of Agriculture. However, she missed the fieldwork and research. She remembers: “I wanted to train a new generation of herpetologists in Lao”. Thus, in 2016 she returned to NUoL to continue working on reptile and amphibian biodiversity.

Her research focuses on the provinces of Xaisomboun, Xieng Khouang, Luang Prabang and Houaphane. She participated in research that led to the discovery, in Central Laos, of a new species in the Tylototriton asperrimus group (Stuart et al 2010). In 2012 she of the Lao Newt (Laotriton laoensis) (Caudata: Salamandridae)” and In 2015 she published a paper on the morphological and molecular variations in the Tylototriton group in Laos (Somphouthone et al 2015). In 2024 she contributed to the discovery of yet another species in Sekong Province.

Dr Somphouthone was named an outstanding researcher in 2018.