Academic interests
My research has focused on identifying patterns of spatial and temporal genetic variation in both plant and animal species in order to infer evolutionary history. Specifically, for my PhD I conducted a comparative phylogeographic analysis and population genetic study of three sympatric species (a millipede and two plant species) that occur on terrestrial banded iron formation ´islands´ in Australia´s semi-arid region. The three species highlighted the role of isolation and genetic drift as an evolutionary force driving population divergence in this study system and had important conservation implications given the presence of mining in that landscape.
I joined the CEES in March 2015 to work on the exciting new collaborative project that seeks to further our understanding of how Vikings shaped the genetic composition of domesticated species such as horses, barley and flax using genomic tools on ancient DNA specimens from Viking Age archaeological sites.