How species originate and what has driven the evolution of millions of organisms on our planet remain some of the hotly debated questions in science. With recent technological developments in genomics, it is now possible to disentangle the genetic architecture of speciation, the evolution of adaptive traits (phenomes), and how different organisms are related.
The Evolutionary Biology Research Theme combines these genomic approaches with cutting-edge ecology, environmental science and paleobiology to address the following challenges: (a) what are the mechanisms of evolution, including how organisms have evolved to become adapted to their biotic and physical environments, evolutionary development, reconstructing and visualising the tree of life; (b) what underlies global patterns of biodiversity, including modelling and predictions under global change scenarios; (c) how the evolution of species affect our own, including vector and disease evolution, viral evolution, fungal diversity, and microbiomes.
Institutes, centres and initiatives
This Research Theme is associated to the following institutes, centres and initiatives:
Academic staff in this area
Dr Arkhat Abzhanov
Dr Michalis Barkoulas
Professor Thomas D C Bell
Professor Martin I Bidartondo
Dr Martin D Brazeau
Professor Austin Burt
Dr Tanai Cardona Londono
Dr Lauren J Cator
Dr Magda Charalambous
Dr Ste Cook
Professor Matthew Fisher
Dr Audrey J Geffen
Dr Richard J Gill
Dr Peter Graystock
Dr Vassiliki Koufopanou
Professor Armand M Leroi
Dr Will Pearse
Professor Andy Purvis
Professor James L Rosindell
Professor Vincent Savolainen
Dr Julia Schroeder
Professor Joseph A Tobias
Dr Michael Tristem
Dr Marco Trizzino
Professor Alfried P Vogler
Postgraduate research
Interested in studying a PhD at the Department of Life Sciences? Find out more about postgraduate research opportunties.