Sanna Huttunen visited the Department of Botany in September and October from the University of Helsinki, Finland. She was funded by SYS-RESOURCE for studies connected with her PhD research on the phylogenetic relationships of the tropical moss families Meteoriaceae and Brachytheciaceae. In particular she made use of the SEM labs for studies of peristome and branch primordia morphology, and the East Tower molecular labs for DNA sequencing. She also made use of the herbarium, looking at type specimens and recent neotropical collections.

Dr Andrew Massalski, a senior scientist in the Institute of Biology, Department of Botany, Pedagogical University, Kielce, Poland was also a recipient of a SYS-RESOURCE grant, "Refining the species concept in Desmodesmus (Chodat) An, Friedl & Hegewald, using cyclomorphosis, morphogenesis and ultrastructure." Andrew worked in collaboration with Elliot Shubert, from 8 October to 10 December 2000.

Andrew received his PhD from Leeds University in 1969 (he was supervised by Prof Gordon Leedale and Prof Irene Manton, pioneers in the field of algal ultrastructure). He held numerous post doctoral fellowships in the USA and Canada before his appointment at the Institute of Biology in 1990.

Maria Teresa Gallego from the University of Murcia, Spain, visited the bryophyte herbarium for one month. She studied material of Pottiaceae for a taxonomic revision of Syntrichia Brid. and Tortula Hedw. in the Mediterranean and surrounding areas, for her PhD research.