My research is focused on the evolution of animal diversity. We use tools drawn from evolutionary biology, ecology, genomics and developmental biology to study how genes and genomes change through evolutionary time, how this impacts on the phenotype via embryonic development, and how environmental factors feed into this process. We work mostly with marine species with planktonic embryos, and at both macro- and microevolutionary scales. For example, we study how major changes in the body plans of widely-divergent animals have evolved, as well as how subtle differences in embryonic development and resistance to environmental stresses arise and in and affect populations of marine organisms and their embryos. As well as expertise with the acquisition and culture of embryos of many species, we have experience with the deployment of genomics, transcriptomics and associated methods to address evolutionary and ecological questions.
Qualifications and Experience
BSc Zoology (1988)
PhD Developmental Genetics (1992)
MRC Career Development Fellow (1996-2000)
Lecturer/Reader, University of Reading (2000-2004)
Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford (2004 onwards)
