Profile

I am an evolutionary genomicist interested in the repeatability of evolution, specifically with respect to phenotypic novelties and host-microbe interactions. My research integrates across the fields of computational biology, evo-devo, and microbial ecology, united under the theme of understanding how the "genomic rules" of adaptation predict biodiversity at molecular, phenotypic and community levels.

To address these questions I mostly focus on diversity within several clades of ray-finned fishes. I currently work on three primary study systems: 1. The genomic basis of male pregnancy, including the repeated evolution of complex pregnancy, in seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons; 2. The evolution of fish-associated microbiomes, particularly how host genetic variation shapes, constrains, and facilitates the predictability of microbial community assembly and molecular evolution; and 3. The developmental genetic underpinnings of a novel, non-mineralized bone tissue type which has evolved repeatedly in sculpin fishes and their relatives.

My training is unique in its breadth, marked by a few career highlights. As a graduate student I developed the first next-generation transcriptomic resources for pipefishes, and I have since been a leader on several genome projects for this group of fishes, including the Gulf pipefish genome (2016) and the leafy and weedy seadragon genomes (2022). As a postdoc I played key roles in developing the threespine stickleback fish as a model for the study of host-microbe interactions, experimental and analytical work that I continue today.