Academic interests
I’m a Researcher and Adviser at the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES) and the Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo and at the Centre for Coastal Research and Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research at the University of Agder. Much of my work is carried out in collaboration with the Flødevigen Research Station, Institute of Marine Research Norway.
My research uses interdisciplinary experimental, genomic, and modelling studies of natural populations to understand how organisms respond to environmental change and the mechanisms of adaptation to local environments across different spatial and temporal scales. I integrate genomic data into eco-evolutionary models for predicting population responses to environmental change (i.e. "genomic forecasting") and understanding the role of behaviour and mating systems in environmental responses and adaptation.
High quality reference genomes are invaluable to genomic forecasting of biodiversity. I am a founding member and Council Representative for Norway in the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA), the Project Lead for the University of Oslo in Biodiversity Genomics Europe, and the Scientific Coordinator for the Earth Biogenome Project Norway (EBP-Nor), consortia which aim to sequence the genomes of all eukaryotic species in Europe/Norway as part of the Earth Biogenome Project that aims to sequence all such species on Earth in a distributed, inclusive, and just manner. Within ERGA, I co-chair the Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee.
In 2018, I co-founded the scientific and artistic project TORSKETROMMING ('COD DRUMMING'), which investigates the role of drumming vocalizations in the Atlantic cod mating ritual and human-cod connection by combining natural scientific, artistic, and social scientific practices.
Previously, I completed my MSc and PhD with Dr. Jeff Hutchings at Dalhousie University on the genomic basis and spatial scale of variation in temperature responses of Atlantic cod populations. From 2019-2022, I was a James S. McDonnell Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Understanding Dynamic and Multi-scale Systems here at CEES/UiO.