Research Interests
Speciation Genetics
Understanding the origins of new species is a major topic in evolutionary biology. In the study of speciation, a conundrum is understanding how species can freely interbreed while being maintained as distinct species. More ...
Recombination rate evolution and its impact on genomic architecture
Recombination occurs when chromosomes exchange genetic material when being put into gametes, which is the main reason why no two offspring from the same set of parents look exactly alike. Mechanistically, recombination is necessary to stabilize chromosomes during meiosis, but too many recombination events can lead to birth defects/disease. More ...
Understanding the impact of introgression on the genome
As mentioned above, a conundrum in the study of speciation is understanding how species are maintained despite hybridization. Quantifying hybridization across the genome and noting its non-uniform distribution has transformed the way we think about the process of speciation. More ...