Directory

Diana Bello-DeOcampo

Diana Bello-DeOcampo

Assistant Professor - Fixed Term
(517) 353-2933
Bierema, Andrea

Andrea Bierema

Specialist Teacher - Fixed Term
Boughman, Janette

Janette Boughman

Professor - Tenure System
 (517) 353-8636
 

There are somewhere between 2 and 10 million living species on earth – possibly more. What processes create this incredible diversity? The deep and difficult question of how new species form has challenged biologists for a long time. This question is at the heart of my research program. A unifying theme of my work is to understand how an organisms’ behavior generates selection that results in diversification, and how diverse behavior itself evolves under the influence of multiple forms of selection. Behavioral traits are thus the primary phenotypes of interest, but can also be the agents of evolutionary change.

Braasch, Ingo

Ingo Braasch

Assistant Professor - Tenure System
(517) 432-3484
 

The Braasch Lab addresses fundamental questions about the genomic and developmental basis of major transitions during the course of vertebrate evolution. We study genomic and morphological novelties in vertebrates at the levels of genome structure, gene family dynamics, and gene regulation and combine comparative genomics with analyses of molecular evolution and developmental genetic approaches using zebrafish (Danio rerio), spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) and other fishes as model systems.

Bradburd, Gideon

Gideon Bradburd

Assistant Professor - Tenure System
 
How are patterns of genetic variation partitioned across space and through time, and what can we learn about the processes that are generating those patterns?  These questions motivate research in the Bradburd Lab into the causes and consequences of genetic variation, as well as into the mechanisms that explain the generation and maintenance of so much diversity.  We address them from a spatial angle, collecting samples, generating sequence data, and developing statistical methods to learn about natural history and evolutionary biology in a variety of empirical systems.
Breedlove, S. Marc

S. Marc Breedlove

Rosenberg Professor of Neuroscience - Tenure System
(517) 355-1749
 breedsm@msu.edu
 
Behavioral endocrinology and molecular neuroscience in mammals.
Dyer, Fred

Fred Dyer

Director of Graduate Studies; Professor - Tenure System
(517) 432-9818
Eisthen, Heather

Heather Eisthen

Professor - Tenure System
(517) 353-1953

 

Our research concerns the causes of evolutionary changes in the nervous system and the behavioral consequences of these changes. We are focusing on evolution and detection of pheromones in salamanders.

Evans, Sarah

Sarah Evans

Assistant Professor - Tenure System
 
I am interested in how microbial communities respond to their environment, and how this response affects ecosystems. I am particularly interested in responses to predicted changes in rainfall patterns (e.g. more drought and flood), and how microorganisms will influence nitrogen cycling, greenhouse gas production, and agricultural sustainability under these new climate regimes. My lab uses a combination of DNA-based methods, culturing, biogeochemical analyses, modeling and field manipulations. We also ask fundamental questions about how microorganisms assemble into communities, respond and influence host organisms (e.g. rhizosphere or gut microbiome), and adapt to a new environment. 
Fitzpatrick, Sarah W

Sarah Fitzpatrick

Assistant Professor - Tenure System
 

I am broadly interested in evolution, ecology, and conservation of natural populations. Research in my lab combines genomic tools, mark-recapture methods, and experiments to study how interactions between gene flow, drift, and selection affect population dynamics and diversity patterns. I am especially interested in gaining a mechanistic understanding of genetic rescue, which is the increase in population growth caused by the infusion of new genetic variation, and in implementing this tool in conservation and management. 

Foran, David

David Foran

Professor - Tenure System
(517) 432-5439
 

Research in the Forensic Biology Laboratory is designed around identification, both of human and non-human species. Laboratory members are also active in forensic casework, aiding the criminal justice system.

Gallant, Jason

Jason Gallant

Assistant Professor - Tenure System
(517) 884-7756
 

We are interested in the origin and diversification of novel phenotypic and behavioral traits involved in animal communication signals, as they relate to signal diversity, mate choice, and speciation.  Our model system of choice is the mormyrid electric fish, which enables a highly integrative approach to these questions, combining behavior, physiology, developmental biology, population genetics, and genomes.