Research

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Do parasites drive evolutionary change in the wild? What strategies are hosts most likely to evolve? And how do parasites adapt to these diverse, ever-changing host populations? Research in the lab takes on these questions by synthesizing data from field observations and experimental manipulations, with guidance from theoretical models and experimental evolution. I predominantly work with nematodes, which get all sorts of neat parasites and have extraordinary experimental power. Ongoing projects investigate the genetic and environmental drivers of disease spread, selection by parasites on host dispersal and life history, evolutionary interference between defense strategies, and coevolution in wild and agricultural settings.

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