Research

My research focuses on understanding the genomic basis and regulatory mechanisms underlying adaption and phenotypic divergence in natural systems. My main research questions aim to better understand:

i) the evolutionary and genomic basis of rapid adaptation

ii) the genetic and functional mechanisms of phenotypic evolution

iii) the role of post-transcriptional processing in adaptive evolution

I mostly address these questions by integrating population genomics with functional genomic approaches, such as RNA-seq, in natural populations, particularly along environmental clines or in cases of parallel evolution.

My research is mostly driven by exciting natural history observations and I aim to generate a better understanding of how the biodiversity around us has evolved and how species adapt to different environments, including those created by humans, e.g. cities.

I am mainly interested in fishes and other aquatic organisms, but I also venture out and collaborate widely to study adaptive processes in birds and other vertebrates.

Projects

Genetic basis of parasitisim loss and variaition in intestine development in lampreys
Genomic basis and regulatory mechanisms of local adaptation with gene flow in Atlantic silversides
The role of alternative splicing in adaptation and evolution
Genomics of ecomorphological divergence in postglacial fishes