My research seeks to understand how biodiversity arises through evolutionary modification of animal development. I use diverse experimental approaches ranging from computational genomics to molecular biology and morphometrics. I primarily work with non-traditional model species and have a special emphasis on marsupials. My recent projects focus on the evolutionary origins of mammalian skin and skeletal adaptations and the use of genomics in conservation.
I have a BSc from the University of Connecticut, where I majored in Molecular in Cell Biology and minored in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. I completed my PhD in BioSciences at the University of Melbourne in 2018, focusing on comparative genomics. I then worked for ~5 years as a Postdoctoral Research Associate and NIH NRSA Fellow in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, where I studied developmental gene regulatory networks underlying adaptive traits. I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow and Genomics Pod Leader in the evolution and conservation focused TIGRR lab at UniMelb.
Experience
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2022–presentPostdoctoral fellow, The University of Melbourne
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2018–2022Postdoctoral research associate, Princeton University
Education
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2018The University of Melbourne, Ph.D. BioSciences
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2011The University of Connecticut, B.Sc.
Grants and Contracts
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2020How to build a gliding mammal: Using natural phenotypic variation to define the molecular regulation of tissue morphogenesis
- Role:
- Fellow
- Funding Source:
- NIH NIGMS
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2020Advancing Conservation Genomics in the Endangered Marsupial Eastern Quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus)
- Role:
- CI
- Funding Source:
- Revive & Restore
Honours
NIH National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellow
- Australia
- Article Feed
- ORCID
- Joined
