Project Description
I study insects and their parasites. I have broad research interests in the evolution and ecology of host-parasite interactions, in particular the behavioural consequences of host manipulation and parasite tranmission. Currently, I am combining high-resolution behavioural assays with high-throughput molecular methods (comparative genomics, comparative transcriptomics, and proteomics) and gene editing (CRISPR-Cas9) to understand the proximate mechanisms that cause terrestrial insects, infected with hairworms (phylum Nematomorpha), to enter water and drown, allowing the parasites to escape and mate.
Research Classification
- Parasitology
- Behavioural ecology
- Animal behaviour
- Insect biology
Research Interests
- host-parasite interactions
- multidisciplinary research
- host manipulation
- ethology
- Disease Ecology
Research Methodology
- behavioural assays
- movement tracking
- insect rearing
- experimental infections
- transcriptomics
- proteomics
- genomics
- Bayesian analysis
Faculty
Faculty of Science