I am currently a post doctoral research fellow in David Stern’s lab at Princeton University with a background in both developmental and evolutionary biology. My current research is centered around two questions:

1. How do the molecular mechanisms of pattern formation change or remain static in the face of environmentally induced changes in embryology?
2. What are the genetic and developmental bases of polyphenism and how do they shed light on its evolution?

The first interest follows from my work on the evolution of segmentation, in which I examined the roles of Pax3/7 segmentation genes in multiple arthropod species that exhibit divergent embryology. The second interest derives from work on wing polyphenism in aphids. I am currently developing a research program around these two questions using the reproductive polyphenism of the pea aphid.

(Photograph: Greg and Alex Davis)