All Research

Genome evolution, polyploidy, duplicate gene fates and evolution, experimental genome evolution of polyploids, evolution of gene regulation, transcriptomics, alternative splicing, non-coding RNAs, nuclear architecture

Plant evolutionary ecology; geographic range limits and rarity; population dynamics and community structure.

Molecular phylogenetic studies of fungi and evolution of fungal life history stategies.

Plant molecular biology, genomics and biochemistry. Natural products and chemical ecology of forest trees.

The study of plant form using the techniques of comparative genomics, molecular developmental biology and evolutionary biology.

Ecology and evolutionary biology; the distribution of biodiversity and the challenges posed to its conservation through recent changes to the environment.

Genome evolution, spliceosomal intron evolution, parasitic adaptation - focusing on microsporidia, a highly derived group of parasitic fungi.

My research examines the effects of human activity on global biodiversity, with emphases on (1) the behavioral responses of animals to human presence, (2) the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on predator-prey and other species interactions, and (3) the socio-ecological dynamics of conservation and coexistence. This work involves large-scale data synthesis and meta-analyses, and local field studies in North America and Africa.

My lab group works on the evolution, phylogenetics and comparative genomics of diverse groups of land plants (embryophytes), with a particular focus on monocots, a flowering-plant clade that includes the major crop plants that sustain human civilization. 

Early eukaryote evolution, molecular phylogeny, protistology.

Marine invertebrate zoology, protozoology, evolutionary morphology & phylogenetics.

Utilizing a combination of molecular genetics, biochemical and genomics approaches to understand plant immunity and biological processes of the soilborne fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Spider systematics and evolution.

Areas of research include:

• Tree biotechnology
• Relationship between genes expression and phenotypic cell wall and development traits
• Plant Metabolism (Metabolomics)
• Cell Wall Development
• Cellulose Biosynthesis
• Lignin Biosynthesis
• Tree Metabolism
• Sucrose Metabolism
• Trees and the Environment; Remediation of anthropogenic contaminants:
  • phosphorous
  • salt
  • heavy metals

Marine phycology; biomechanics of macroalgae.

Ecophysiology, ecosystem ecology, macroecology, scaling, fire behaviour and effects.

My research focuses on how predator-prey interactions impact the health and functioning of coastal wetland ecosystems and explores the role that cultural values and knowledge play in ecosystem restoration conservation.

Microbiome of coastal marine organisms; eukaryotes in the microbiome

Adaptation, Domestication, Crop Evolution, Hybridization, Speciation, Weed Evolution

Characterization of ER-PM contact site components involved in plant stress tolerance

Plant cell biology, cellular basis of secretion of plant cell wall components; lignification in xylem development; ABC transporters and cuticle secretion

plant genomics, environmental stresses, seed development, gene expression

The biology of viruses that infect marine phytoplankton and bacteria, and the role of these viruses in population dynamics and geochemical cycles.

Understanding the genetic basis of plant diversity and adaptation.

Aquatic and Insect Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

• ​​We investigate the effect of changing environments on insect and aquatic communities;
• We use field and laboratory experiments, syntheses of published literature, and natural history collections to investigate ecological and evolutionary responses to climate and habitat change;
• Our work is grounded in ecological and evolutionary theory and has applications to conservation biology and healthy ecosystems

Plant Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics; organization of the cytoskeleton and its role in cell wall formation, intracellular motility and growth anisotropy in the higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the characean algae; plant responses to abiotic and endogenous signals.

Plant molecular systematic and evolution; the evolution of asexual polyploid complexes in higher plants.

We are interested in how local resistance and systemic acquired resistance are regulated in plants.