My research interests lie at the interface between evolutionary and developmental biology. I seek to understand phenotypic evolution by studying the processes by which the gene-regulatory networks underlying development diverge. For more details, see the lab Research page.

My ongoing project is an effort to elucidate the divergence of downstream regulatory networks of sex-specific gene expression in Drosophila. We are currently using micro arrays and other molecular techniques for genome-wide analysis of sex-biased gene expression with functional assays at different stages of development and across closely related species to identity interesting candidate genes showing regulatory evolution.

Using the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, I am intersted in identifying and characterizing “phenotypic capacitors;” genes that normally act to buffer environmental and/or genetic variation, but reveal this variation phenotypically when functionally compromised. I am using both high-throughput quantitative phenotpic assays and computational analysis of existing data sets to identify single-gene deletion strains that have high variance along several morphological traits. I aim to characterize these candidate phenotypic capacitors both computationally and experimentally to understand which biological processes or network topologies are more likely to contain phenotypic capacitors, and how phenotypic capacitors influence evolutionary trajectories in the lab and in the wild.

I am an undergraduate biology major interested in sexual development.

Our lab recently discovered new candidate genes underlying sexual dimorphism in Drosophila melanogaster. I am interested in expanding the list of candidate genes and using molecular biology to validate our findings. I aim to characterize many of these genes regulating sexual developement and their evolutionary significance driving divergence.