Biography
I am a PGR based in the Energy and Environment Institute (EEI) and department of Biological and Marine Sciences (BMS) at The University of Hull. I am working with Dr Katharina Wollenberg Valero investigating genomic markers predicting lizards response to climate change. I previously completed an undergraduate Masters degree studying species delimitation and phylogenetics at Bangor University. I am a keen herpetologist, and find them a fascinating group to ask novel ecological and evolutionary questions. I have been involved with several conservation-based expeditions around the world including king cobra spatial ecology in Thailand and snakebite research in Northwest India. Outside of enjoying the wonders of the natural world, I am a big fan of beer and pizza.
Qualifications
2021 – Current: Postgraduate researcher testing molecular tools to identify the winners and losers of climate change, at The University of Hull.
2012 – 2017: Undergraduate Master’s degree in Zoology with Herpetology with International Experience from Bangor University
Research Interests
Herpetology; including conservation, toxinology, and asking novel biological questions.
Ecology; ranging from community level interactions to species-specific niche theory.
Evolution; particularly species delimitation, phylogenetics, biogeography, microevolutionary adaptations.
Project Title
Genomic markers predicting lizards response to climate change.
Supervisors
Dr. Katharina Wollenberg Valero
Dr. Pedro Beltran-Alverez
Funding
Panorama NERC DTP, 2021
Project outline
Genomic mechanisms to environmental adaptation are an understudied but quickly developing field of study. Environmental adaptability is pertinent to an organisms survival, of which, temperature influences numerous biochemical pathways. Variation of biochemical pathways and their underlying genomic constraints may elucidate how organisms persist in the face of a constantly changing environment, and more generally, evolutionary trajectory. Variation of these underlying genomic regions not only effect phenotype directly but may have pleiotropic affects on behaviour and mating strategy. In addition, epigenomic modifications can also play a role in phenotypic expression, manifesting another mechanism of environmental adaptability. This project aims to explore the relationship between a changing climate and related genomic and proteomic signatures. This can be assessed in datasets over space and time, notably in terrestrial ectotherms (e.g. reptiles) which largely rely on external temperatures to regulate biological functions.