Here is an overview of our ongoing projects.
Phylogenomics, Rates of Evolution, and the Genetics of Phenotypic Innovation
We use genomic markers to reconstruct the evolutionary history of lizards, snakes and other vertebrates in order to understand how rates of molecular evolution are related to rates of phenotypic evolution and speciation.
The Genomic Mechanisms underlying Cancer Prevalence across Vertebrates
We study the genomic mechanisms of cancer suppression in large, long-lived animals and across the tree of life.
The Evolution of Transposable Elements in Non-model Species
We study the evolutionary dynamics of transposable elements within and between populations and species to understand how natural selection and demographic history account for the diversity of these ubiquitous genomic features.
Comparative Phylogeography
We develop methods that integrate genetic markers and historical environmental datasets to understand genetic variation and structure in populations and species across landscapes, and test demographic and biogeographic hypotheses of past and future species distributions.