Nothing in Evolution makes sense except in the light of phylogeny |
Sterelny & Griffiths |
For my postdoc at Cornell and at the National Museum of Natural History, I was working on the phylogenomics and evolution of groups within the Aculeata (the stinging Hymenoptera; ants, bees, and wasps). Did you know that there are pollen-feeding wasps in Vespidae? Those pollen feeders comprise less than 2% of the species of bees. Or, were you aware that we still don't know the relationships among the families of aculeates? These are groups I'm working on.
For phylogenetic reconstruction, I utilize thousands of highly-conserved regions of DNA across the genome -- called ultraconserved elements (UCEs). Next-generation sequencing techniques are effective for utilizing fragmented DNA from old, pinned museum specimens (we are using Illumina HiSeq 4000 as of now).
The photo above was taken during the UCE library prep steps done at the Smithsonian, in their excellent LAB facilities (Laboratory of Analytical Biology).
My labmate and I traveled to DC for training in 2016. Thanks to Seán Brady and Bonnie Blaimer for hosting us!
For phylogenetic reconstruction, I utilize thousands of highly-conserved regions of DNA across the genome -- called ultraconserved elements (UCEs). Next-generation sequencing techniques are effective for utilizing fragmented DNA from old, pinned museum specimens (we are using Illumina HiSeq 4000 as of now).
The photo above was taken during the UCE library prep steps done at the Smithsonian, in their excellent LAB facilities (Laboratory of Analytical Biology).
My labmate and I traveled to DC for training in 2016. Thanks to Seán Brady and Bonnie Blaimer for hosting us!
Please click on the drop-down links under the research tab to learn about some of my recent and ongoing work.
I hope to find more time in early 2021 to refresh and update my research and projects!
I hope to find more time in early 2021 to refresh and update my research and projects!
|
Danforth Lab 2016-2018, Postdoc on NSF Grant
|
From the Danforth lab website: The lab has recently embarked on a new collaborative project on the phylogeny of the aculeate wasps and bees using ultraconserved elements (UCEs). This project involves a collaboration with Sean Brady (Smithsonian Institution), James Pitts (Utah State University), and Robert Ross (Paleontological Research Institution). The project is entitled “Phylogeny and diversification of the stinging Hymenoptera (Aculeata) using targeted enrichment of ultra conserved elements” (NSF-DEB 1555905).
Images copyright Andrew Murray (my brother). See more of his photography here.