Contact Information
I seek to understand the evolution of morphological novelties by focusing on the evolution and development of butterfly wing patterns. More recently my lab has also been pursuing the molecular basis of learning and memory in butterflies. Research in the lab addresses the selective factors that favor particular wing patterns, the mechanisms that generate those patterns, and mechanisms of odor learning and odor memory transmission across generations. We combine tools from ethology, population genetics, phylogenetics, and developmental biology to understand the nature of the variation underlying developmental mechanisms within and between species, and why species display their particular phenotypes. Our model organisms (so far) have been African satyrid butterflies in the genus Bicyclus, other nymphalids, pierid butterflies, and saturniid moths.
My Mentoring Style
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Selecting Research Topics?
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Setbacks / Challenges
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