Andor J. Kiss

I am interested in adaptation and evolution of animals from a vertically integrative perspective. More specifically, I’m most interested in how animals have adapted to extreme environmental niches. To unravel these complex questions, my primary objectives are to understand how changes at the molecular level influence these adaptations. Projects currently underway fall into three areas: (i) adaptive and evolutionary physiology of vertebrate animals, (ii) structure/function basis of long-term stability of globular protein systems – their role in adaptation and diseases, and (iii) epigenetics in the sensory systems of the acclimatory response. Experiments to elucidate these areas involve:

Comparative biochemistry of cold adapted lens crystallins and their evolutionary plasticity
Genome sequencing of the freeze tolerant North American wood frog – enabling differential gene expression studies to understand seasonal freeze tolerance
Epigenetics of the acclimatory response in both microbes and higher vertebrates.

In addition to my research interests, I am the Director of the Center for Bioinformatics & Functional Genomics (http://miamioh.edu/cas/academics/centers/cbfg/), which is Miami University’s molecular biology, DNA sequencing and bioinformatics core laboratory. In addition to on-site core services, the CBFG accepts and facilitates work from outside of our academic environment (https://www.scienceexchange.com/labs/center-for-bioinformatics-functional-genomics).