I am interested in how animal diversity relates to evolution of the genome. When we compare genome sequences between species, we find gene duplications, genome duplications, novel genes and rapidly changing gene sequences. We want to work out how these ‘major’ genomic changes contributed to the evolution of animals.
I am one of the Principal Investigators of the ‘Darwin Tree of Life’ project which received >£12M from the Wellcome Trust. The aim of this ground-breaking project is to sequence the genome of the key species in the ecosystems of Britain and Ireland. Our lab in Oxford has collected 2500 animal species for this project, primarily from Wytham Woods, and over 1000 of these genomes have been sequenced. We are exploring these data, mapping genomic changes through evolution; all data are freely available for anyone to analyse. I am also co-Investigator of a newly-awarded £5M BBSRC sLOLA grant examining how genome duplication contributes to eukaryotic evolution.
In the University of Oxford Biology degree course, I teach 'Diversity of Life' and a residential field course in the First year, and 'Genome Evolution' and 'Evolution & Development' in the Third year.
Outside Oxford, I sit on the Royal Society Newton International Fellowship panel and I am a scientific adviser to the BBC. Until recently I was Chair of the Board of the Earlham Institute, a BBSRC strategically supported research institute. I was previously Trustee for the Marine Biological Association for 19 years and Chair of the MBA Research Panel.
