Algae

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

Life cycle transitions of sexual eukaryote; Molecular mechanisms of nutrient sensing in phototrophic eukaryotes; Ubiquitin-dependent mechansism for chloroplast quality control; Evolution of developmental/epigenetic mechanisms; Macroevolutionary transitions from prokaryotes to eukaryotes and from green algae to land plants; Mitigating climate change by engineering algae for efficient carbon capture and biofuel production.

Marine phycology; biomechanics of macroalgae.

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 we tackle both basic and applied questions