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Jack da Silva

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Senior Lecturer in Genetics, University of Adelaide

My research has ranged from field studies of the ecology and evolution of animal behaviour to experimental laboratory studies of the evolution of sex and sexual selection to the computational molecular evolution of HIV-1. I currently focus on the population and evolutionary genetics of adaptation at the molecular level. Using HIV-1 as a model system, I study the interactions between mutation, genetic drift, recombination and natural selection as the virus adapts to its human host. My approach is purely computational and involves the analysis of molecular sequence data and the use and development of analytical and simulation models. Although this work addresses questions about the most fundamental mechanisms of evolutionary change, anything learnt about the virus’s adaptive evolution may be useful in devising strategies for its control.

Experience

  • 2003–present
    Senior Lecturer in Genetics, University of Adelaide
  • 2001–2003
    Computational Biologist, North Carolina Supercomputing Center
  • 1999–2001
    Assistant Professor, East Carolina University
  • 1992–1997
    Assistant Professor, Laurentian University

Education

  • 1990 
    University of Oxford, Doctor of Philosophy
  • 1985 
    University of New Brunswick, Master of Science
  • 1983 
    Simon Fraser University, Bachelor of Science (Honours)

Publications

  • 2012
    The dynamics of HIV-1 adaptation in early infection, Genetics
  • 2012
    BRCA1/2 mutations, fertility and the grandmother effect, Proceedings of the Royal Society B
  • 2010
    Fitness epistasis and constraints on adaptation in a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protein reg, Genetics
  • 2009
    An adaptive walk by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 through a fluctuating fitness landscape, Evolution
  • 2006
    Site-specific amino acid frequency, fitness and the mutational landscape model of adaptation in huma, Genetics
  • 1999
    Molecular phylogenetic evidence of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) selection on human immunodeficiency , Molecular Biology and Evolution
  • 1999
    Virus-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses select for amino acid variation in simian immunodefi, Nature Medicine
  • 1996
    The ecology and genetics of fitness in Chlamydomonas. VII. The effect of sex on the variance in fitn, Evolution
  • 1992
    Male swords and female preferences, Science

Research Areas

  • Population, Ecological And Evolutionary Genetics (060411)
  • Evolutionary Biology (0603)
  • Molecular Evolution (060409)
  • Genetics (0604)
  • Virology (060506)
  • Behavioural Ecology (060201)