Colorado State University

Across the tree of life, biological organisms exhibit remarkable diversity in genome size, structure, and function. My research aims to elucidate the evolutionary forces that create and maintain this diversity. In many organisms, DNA is partitioned between two or more genomic compartments within the same cell. For example, eukaryotic cells contain both nuclear and organelle genomes, and many organisms harbor microbial endosymbionts inside their own cells. One of the overarching hypotheses that I am investigating is that interactions between these co-occurring genomes represent a major mechanism of genome evolution. This work has involved diverse organisms, including flowering plants, sap-feeding insects, endosymbiotic bacteria, and humans and generally requires a combination of approaches, including field sampling of natural populations, molecular genetic techniques, and computational genomic analysis. To learn more about research in the lab, please visit our lab website.