Evolutionary Biology

We are a product of evolution. Just like the plants that provide us with food and materials, the microorganisms that keep us healthy or make us ill, and the forests and plankton that produce our oxygen.

But evolution is still a subject where much remains unknown, where puzzles and problems are many, and where new approaches and new technologies are needed to unlock hidden mysteries.

Our research involves studying the molecule of inheritance, DNA, to find genetic differences between and within species. We look at the links between ‘genotype’ and ‘phenotype’ and the consequences of interactions between and within species – from birds to bacteria, moths to mammals, plants to protists, tardigrades to tunicates, and fish to flies to flatworms.