All Research Areas

  • NameResearch Abstract

    Keith Adams

    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

    Amy Angert

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

    Arif Ashraf

    Jörg Bohlmann

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

    Quentin Cronk

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

    Jonathan Davies

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

    Naomi Fast

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

    Monika Fischer

    Fungal biology, genetics, and ecology. Fire-adapted fungi and post-fire ecosystems.

    Kaitlyn Gaynor

    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.

    Sean Graham

    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. 

    Reinhard Jetter

    Patrick Keeling

    Early eukaryote evolution, molecular phylogeny, protistology.

    Brian Leander

    Marine invertebrate zoology, protozoology, evolutionary morphology & phylogenetics.

    Xin Li

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

    Shawn Mansfield

    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

    Patrick Martone

    Marine phycology; biomechanics of macroalgae.

    Sean Michaletz

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

    Alex Moore

    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.

    Laura Wegener Parfrey

    Microbiome of coastal marine organisms; eukaryotes in the microbiome

    Loren Rieseberg

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

    Abel Rosado

    Physiology and Biochemistry of native edible species of the Pacific Northwest 

    Lacey Samuels

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

    Liang Song

    plant genomics, environmental stresses, seed development, gene expression

    Curtis Suttle

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

    Marco Todesco

    Understanding the genetic basis of plant diversity and adaptation.

    Philippe Tortell

    Michelle Tseng

    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.

    Geoffrey Wasteneys

    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.

    Jeannette Whitton

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

    Yuelin Zhang

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