My pronouns are she/her
In the Verd lab, we use species of Lake Malawi cichlid fish that are very closely related genetically but have different morphologies to tease apart how phenotypic diversity can arise. In particular, we are interested in how such closely related species develop different numbers of vertebrae during embryonic posterior body development. I aim to use microscopy techniques to investigate if these differences in morphology can be attributed to differences in embryonic cell movements. By combining data on cell movements with mathematical modelling and gene expression changes between species, we aim to gain an understanding of how very similar genetic programmes can be altered to create interspecies diversity.
