Biosystems and environmental change
Our research focuses on the investigation of molecular, physiological and behavioural responses to environmental change across rapid, seasonal and evolutionary timescales.
We are interested in both natural evolutionary changes and those driven by environmental pollution and climate change.A deeper mechanistic understanding of organism physiology and toxicology, and its adaptation, is achieved by integrating and modelling our measurements using computational biology.
We have particular expertise in Daphnia magna as a model species for probing molecular-environment interactions in the context of environmental toxicology and evolution. Many other biosystems are investigated, from cell lines to terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates to fish. We also specialise in birds as model species, for cognition, foraging and nutritional ecology, and in animal biomechanics, particularly the evolution of primate locomotor ecology.
Research Facilities
Our research is supported by excellent facilities for molecular measurements, including state-of-the-art genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics technologies.
- Functional Genomics, Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility
- Advanced Mass Spectrometry Facility
- Henry Wellcome Building for Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy
- Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR)
Facilities for studying terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates are extensive, as are those for studies of fish. We also have access to both local and international field sites.