Principle Investigator
Michael Lynch
mlynch11@asu.edu
Our research focuses on mechanisms of evolution at the gene, genomic, cellular, and phenotypic levels giving special attention to the role of mutation, random genetic drift, and recombination. We are especially interested in building evolutionary theory from first principles in population genetics and biophysics, and using this theory to explain patterns of phenotypic variation across the Tree of Life. Model organisms employed include the microcrustacean Daphnia, the ciliated protozoan Paramecium, and various other microbial species. Methodologies include high-throughput methods in genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics; high-performance computing; and mathematical analysis.
Staff
Logan Graham
lsgraham@asu.edu
Research Technician
I am the technician responsible for the overview of Daphnia related projects and maintenance of live daphnia and algae cultures. Currently, I am also working on measuring metabolic and respiration rates across several daphnia species.
Samuel Miller
Samuel.Miller.1@asu.edu
Research Specialist Sr
In addition to leading day-to-day duties as the laboratory manager, I am involved in maintaining the Paramecium cultures and research duties in the lab. I also assist with experimental design/upkeep on multiple experiments and am completing/continuing a mass sequencing workflow required for various genomic analyzes.
Ravina Telkar
rtelkar@asu.edu
Research Specialist
I focus on genomics analysis and population genetics in Paramecium, using bioinformatics to study genetic diversity, evolutionary dynamics, and species relationships.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Farhan Ali
fali29@asu.edu
Postdoctoral Researcher
My interest is in understanding the evolutionary forces that shape patterns of genetic variation over a genome and across species. At Lynch lab, I am working on estimating effective population sizes across the Tree of Life while accounting for selection on synonymous sites. I also analyze Paramecium genomes to understand variation in selective constraints across closely related species.
Bret Coggins
bcoggin2@asu.edu
Postdoctoral Researcher
My interest is in —-
Berenice Jimenez-Marin
ljimnezm@asu.edu
Postdoctoral Researcher
I am interested in studying major evolutionary transitions, especially multicellularity, but overall aim to harness both experimental and bioinformatic approaches to tackle biological questions integratively. Currently, I am working towards bettering our understanding of the evolution of promoter architectures using a unicellular ciliate model system.
Kunaal Joshi
kjoshi35@asu.edu
Postdoctoral Researcher
I have a background in mathematical modeling of stochastic dynamical systems, and am currently investigating the evolution of the scaling patterns of cell size and growth rate across the tree of life.
Almorò Scarpa
ascarpa1@asu.edu
Postdoctoral Researcher
I am interested in how transposable elements shape genome evolution, with a particular focus on their dynamics in natural populations. My work combines population genetic theory with genomic and bioinformatic approaches to understand how transposable elements spread, persist, or are eliminated, and what this means for genome evolution more broadly.
Guangying Wang
gwang128@asu.edu
Postdoctoral Researcher
I am interested in the genetics, genomics, and evolutionary biology of ciliated protozoa. Currently, I am focusing on the comparative aspects of cell biology among different species, as well as analyzing a large-scale population genomics dataset of ciliates.
PhD Students
Charlotte Bony
cbony@asu.edu
I am interested in single-cell RNA sequencing in a phylogenetics context. I am using machine learning and topological data analysis (TDA) techniques to analyze these data in Daphnia. Additionally, I am exploring intron gain/loss and examining U2/U12-dependent introns across Daphniidae.
Nikta Jabbarzadeh
njabbarz@asu.edu
I am interested in investigating the hydrodynamic effects on the motility of microorganisms. Currently, I am working on producing volumetric images and extracting flow fields to (1) improve motility cost calculations through enhancements to the Paramecium body model and (2) identify swimming states in three-dimensional space.
Man Lin
mlin61@asu.edu
My research interest are: (1) molecular coevolution, with specific focus on interaction between the nucleus and organelles; (2) cell-type evolution.
Chetana Vendanaparthy
cvedanap@asu.edu
My research focuses on studying the evolution of E. coli chimeras and wildtypes and estimating their growth and metabolic rates.
Masters Students
Alexander Day
aaday3@asu.edu
My focus is on the Volvocales clade of algae to study how multicellularity affects the energy budget of cells.