Meet our team
Nathalie Feiner
Lise Meitner Group leader at MPI in Plön, Germany
I am an evolutionary biologist with a background in comparative genomics and developmental biology. Broadly speaking, I want to understand how the generation of phenotypic variation affects how evolution proceeds. This motivation has led me to pursue a diverse set of research questions that span from the developmental origins of novelties to the role of developmental plasticity in evolution – using a range of tools from geometric morphometrics to various kinds of -omics approaches. I am fortunate that most of my research questions can be addressed by studying lizards, and my ERC-funded project on wall lizards allows me to use a developmental approach to understand phenotypic innovation and convergent evolution.
CV Publication list feiner@evolbio.mpg.de
Tobias Uller
Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Lund University, Sweden
I want to understand how evolution works. This requires an integrative approach – from molecular and developmental biology to ecology – guided by mathematical modelling and conceptual analysis. My projects span across a range of topics, but most are designed to reveal how functional processes of organisms – development, physiology and behaviour – influence their evolution. We mostly study lizards, and combine experiments with genomic analyses, field studies and comparative methods. Several projects make use of mathematical modelling to predict or interpret evolutionary outcomes. The integration of development and evolution also raises conceptual issues, which I explore in contributions aimed towards biologists and philosophers of science.
CV Publication list LU website tobias.uller@biol.lu.se
Postdocs
Quentin Horta-Lacueva
Postdoc | LU
Adaptive divergence | phenotypic integration | morphometrics| comparative biology
I am interested in the developmental origins of morphological diversity. During my PhD, I studied how hybridization affects feeding morphology, developmental timing and animal personality in Arctic charr morphs. Now focusing on the evolution of the skull in lizards, I investigate how particular types of embryonic cells may influence diversification and convergence.
quentin.horta-lacueva@biol.lu.se
Ivan Prates
Postdoc | LU
Biogeography | speciation | phylogenomics | conservation biology
I am a Brazilian evolutionary biologist interested in the processes behind species and phenotypic trait diversification. I have previously worked with a great variety of frogs and lizards from the Americas and Australia, and I am now focusing my attention on Mediterranean wall lizards. By combining fieldwork with comparative genomics, I aim to answer questions on their biogeography and patterns of parallel evolution.
Guannan Wen
Postdoc | MPI
Evolutionary genomics | gene flow | speciation | diversification
I’m interested in using genomic data to resolve evolutionary questions in natural populations, such as their diversification pattern, evolutionary history, and mechanisms of their speciation. My work is uncovering evolutionary patterns and shed light on the processes that drive these patterns. I am also passionate about conservation biology, and I’m eager to apply my skills in population genetics to improve the prospects of endangered taxa.
Gwenaëlle Deconninck
Postdoc | LU
Evolutionary ecology | ecophysiology | island biogeography
My research interests include community ecology, ecophysiology, and the effects of environmental change on populations and ecosystems. I am particularly interested in topics related to conservation and invasion biology. Currently, my work focuses on understanding the ecological, genetic, and physiological factors that contribute to the resilience and adaptation of small island populations of lizards.
gwenaelle.deconninck@biol.lu.se
Juan Gefaell Borras
Postdoc | LU
Adaptation | evolutionary theory | philosophy of science
I have a joint background in evolutionary biology and philosophy of science. I combine empirical research in evolutionary ecology with philosophical analyses. Scientific research enables me to explore questions about adaptation and diversification, while philosophy encourages me to reflect on the bigger picture. My ultimate aim is to understand and celebrate science in general, and evolutionary biology in particular.
juan.gefaell_borras@biol.lu.se
Jan Kreider
Postdoc | LU
Theoretical biology | origins of multicellularity | experimental evolution
I am an EMBO postdoctoral fellow in the Feiner-Uller and Cornwallis groups. My aim is to understand how mechanisms that regulate development and behavior have facilitated or hindered the evolution of cooperation and complex social life. I use a combination of theoretical modelling and empirical approaches, such as experimental evolution, comparative genomics and transcriptomics, to investigate the evolutionary transition from unicellular to multicellular life in green algae.
PhD students
Robin Pranter
PhD student | LU
Developmental bias | parallel evolution | evo-devo| neural crest cells
I am interested in the developmental basis of adaptive phenotypic changes, in particular the developmental origins of complex phenotypes. During my PhD, I will investigate a suite of exaggerated traits – a syndrome – that has repeatedly evolved in different wall lizard species. My aim is to identify the cellular and genetic changes that are associated with the syndrome to ultimately understand why evolution tends to repeat itself.
Lucia Caroli
PhD student | LU
Conservation genomics | Population genetics | evolutionary genomics | sand lizards
I am a PhD student interested in what genomes can tell us about the past history and future prospects of small and isolated populations. I study sand lizards in Sweden, a species threatened by habitat reduction and fragmentation. I am excited about evolutionary biology in general and how its tools and methods can be applied to conservation.
Garazi Martin Bideguren
PhD student
Microbiome | co-evolution | adaptation | climate
I am a PhD student based at the University of Copenhagen, working with animal-microbiota interactions in Antton Alberdi’s group. My research explores the microbiome of lizards and the interactions between these bacteria and their host. My overall aim is to understand the role of gut microbes in adaptation to different environments.
MSc students
Tyra Westelius
MSc student
Color pattern polymorphism | sex-specific expression | gene regulation
I am a student in the first cohort of the new MSc progrom in Evolutionary Biology at Lund University. My MSc project tries to uncover why the diamond pattern polymorphism is restricted to females, but not males, of the brown anole lizard. This is puzzling given that the causal gene is located on an autsome, and not from a sex chromosome. I will investigate if the genomic linkage with the Estrogen receptor gene 1 is causing a lower expression of the patterning gene, and therefore causes the sex-linkage of the polymorphism.
Santiago Ávila Quíntero
MSc student
Conservation biology | thermal biology | evolutionary genomics
I am a MSc student at Lund University and I do my research project on the evolutionary genomics of wall lizards introduced to England. These populations have been established less than 100 years ago, and I use genomics to understand their history and future prospects. Are the populations highly inbred and on the verge of extinction, or are wall lizards thriving and expanding?