We are a research group within the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on the ecology and evolution of infection dynamics in insects.
OPEN POSITIONS - We are currently recruiting a 2-year postdoc and a 4-year research assistant.
Funding success! We are so excited and grateful that our proposal "What makes a super-spreader? Genetic control, evolutionary constraints and epidemiological implications of heterogeneity in host infectiousness" has been funded by the BBSRC. Lots of cool science to come over the next few years.
Welcome! To Sijun Xian who joins the lab as an Honours research project student. Sijun is testing how social context impacts the severity of infection.
Congratulations! We are immensely proud of Mariangel for receiving a pass with Distinction on her MSc Research dissertation on the evolutionary constrains acting on super-shedding.
New paper! - We find that mtDNA variation acts as an immunomodulatory factor in adult flies, and that specific mitotypes can provide enhanced protection against bacterial, viral and parasitoid infections.Now accepted atPLOS Genetics!
New paper! - Some really fun work led by Katy on pathogen avoidance behaviour during feeding - flies are generally attracted to several bacterial pathogens. Not linked to immunity, probably linked to appetite for protein. Now accepted in Ecology and Evolution.
