Department of Biology

Life history evolution and ecology

Evolution and ecology of host-parasite interactions

Areas of Research: Molecular Genetics, Ecology & Evolution

Ecological and evolutionary genetics of plants

Mechanisms regulating polarized cell growth

Non-visual effects of light on physiology and behavior

Sexual conflict, life-history evolution, physiological and behavioral ecology

Regulation of neural stem cell proliferation

Signal processing by the central nervous system

Evolutionary Ecology, Plant Ecology

Genetics of obesity, diabetes, and aging

Mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease

Neuronal function and behavior in flies

The evolutionary origins, function, and mechanisms of adult neurogenesis

Developmental genetics, regeneration, evolution

Evolutionary genetics and behavioral ecology

The neurobiology of appetite, digestion, and metabolism

Behavior and neurobiology of electric fishes

Microbial evolution, ecology and genomics

Cell adhesion and mechanotransduction in vertebrate morphogenesis

Evolution of infectious disease

Population genetics and molecular evolution

Cilia, Human disease modeling, Quantitative cell biology, Organelle biology, Cell architecture

The interaction between plants and microbes

Mechanisms of neural development and disease

Retinal Development and Disease

Endosomal function and dysfunction in neurons. Wiring the nervous system in development.

Genetics of embryonic eye development

Neurotransmitters and behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster

Ecological and evolutionary genetics

Tissue regeneration and developmental homeostasis

The role of glial-glial interactions during nervous system devleopment, disease and regeneration

Mechanisms of genetic and metabolic adaptation in the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum

Mouse Visual System

The cell biological foundations of development

Plant stress, both physiological mechanisms and ecological implications

Regeneration, development, and gene regulatory networks

Schield Lab will study the evolutionary genomics and population genetics of speciation and adaptation.