John Pannell
Group leader
My research is directed towards understanding (1) the evolution of plant gender, sexual dimorphism, sex allocation strategies, and sex chromosomes, (2) the ecology, genetics and evolution of polyploidy, especially in its interaction with the sexual system and (3) the evolution of local adaptation, particularly in colonizing plant species; and the ecology and population genetics of metapopulations and range expansions subject to repeated local extinctions and re-colonisations.
Thomas Lesaffre
Post-Doc
I am a theoretician, broadly interested in the evolution of plants. During my PhD, which I did in Lille under the supervision of Dr Sylvain Billiard, I developed population genetics models to study the link between perenniality, inbreeding depression and mating systems in flowering plants. For my postdoc, I will develop models incorporating key aspects of plant physiology to study the evolution of life-histories and senescence in plants.
Shengman Lyu
Post-Doc
I am interested in understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes governing the dynamics of plant populations and communities. Throughout my PhD, I focused on the impacts of plant species interactions on their distributions across elevation gradients in the Swiss Alps and the demographic processes influencing the coexistence of perennial plant species. Presently, I work on the EcoRaMa project, which seeks to unravel the ecological and evolutionary factors influencing the range margins of Mercurialis annua in Europe.
Kai-Hsiu Chen
Post-Doc
In general, I am interested in the ecology and evolution of plant mating, sexual, and pollination system. My PhD research focuses on different sex allocation strategies and their fitness consequence using Anemone alpina (hermaphroditic, perennial, and insect-pollinated) and Mercurialis annua (Dioecious, annual, and wind-pollinated). For instance, trade-offs between growth, survival, and reproduction among growing seasons, effects of herbivory on sex allocation, selection gradients imposed by pollinators and antagonists on floral traits, and fitness-gain curves of male and female sex function… etc.
Marjolaine Rousselle
Post-Doc
Mai-Thu Nguyen
PhD student
I am excited about population dynamics and currently exploring the transition between different sexual systems that involve interactions between maternally and biparentally inherited modifiers of sex allocation. My aim is to use theoretical modelling, genomics and transcriptomics data to understand sex allocation and how sterility mutations spread in populations.
Ehouarn Le Faou
PhD student
My primary interest lies in the field of evolutionary biology, with a particular focus on the evolution of reproductive systems. My academic background has provided me with various skills in population genetics, statistics, ecology, and modelling. My early work and interests were more theoretical, but I'm now much more involved in empirical work, doing my PhD on the evolution of reproductive systems in plants.
Suhaas Seghal
PhD student
Dessislava Savova Bianchi
Staff
DNA extractions and amplification, AFLP, Microsatellites, gel electrophoresis on plant and animal species. Responsible of the laboratory and management of laboratory stock.