I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Kansas in the Unckless lab, in the Department of Molecular Biosciences. I like to analyze data and test hypotheses concerning host-parasite co-evolution in Drosophila experimentally and with bioinformatics. I also like to play board/video games and think about game mechanics.
I graduated from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom with a BSc in Biological Sciences in 2012, and then from the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics with a PhD in Population Genomics in 2016. For my PhD in the Betancourt Lab, I studied the horizontal transfer and fitness costs of transposable elements in Drosophila. Since 2016 I have worked at the University of Kansas, studying co-evolution of Drosophila innubila and their associated DNA virus, DiNV. I also study the evolution of antimicrobial peptides and other immune effectors.
My full CV is available here.
News
2020-05-20: New preprint - Rapid divergence of the copulation proteins in the Drosophila dunni group is associated with hybrid post-mating-prezygotic incompatibilities
Available on BiorXiv, Rob and I submitted a new manuscript where we examine the divergence in the genomes of closely related Caribbean Drosophila species.
2020-05-14: New preprints - Recurrent evolution of two competing haplotypes in an insect DNA virus & Selection and demography shape genomic variation in a Sky Island species
Available on Biorxiv, Rob and I submitted two manuscripts examining the evolution of a virus and its host, we find the virus has two competing types that seem to have been maintained for thousands of years.
2019-12-28: Honeymoon in Maui!
2019-09-28: Dana and I got married today!
2019-08-18: Midwest Population Genetics VI
Rob, Jo and I attended this conference in Chicago, presenting our recent work.
2019-08-16: Manuscript accepted: A Deep-Learning Approach for Detecting Copy NUmber Variants in Next-Generation Sequencing Data.
The paper was accepted and should be published in G3 in the next few weeks.
2019-07-25: New preprint - Transposable element dynamics are consistent across the Drosophila phylogeny, despite drastically differing content.
Available on BiorXiv, will be submitted for review as soon as the data is published. Using data I’ve scavenged from Justin and Rob, I’ve compared the TE insertion frequency spectrum of five species, as I’d like to start comparing other species to D. melanogaster more, to identify when D. melanogaster represents other species, and when it’s an exception.
2019-05-31: New preprint - A Simple Deep-Learning Approach for Detecting Duplications and Deletions in Next-Generation Sequencing Data.
Available on BiorXiv, Rob and I developed a simple python tool for estimating copy number variation in next-generation sequencing information using machine learning. Soon we’ll be applying it across many species to identify AMP copy number variation.