I am an evolutionary biologist working on questions of phenotypic and genomic evolution.

The big question behind my empirical work is how the genetics of traits limits their adaptation. I address this question in two model systems. Using fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), I study constraints on the evolution of sexual dimorphism, phenotypic differences between males and females. Because in most species males and females share almost all genes, their phenotypic traits are often genetically coupled and responses to divergent sex-specific selection pressures are less than straightforward. We are studying the resulting adaptive conflict between the sexes using a combination of laboratory experiments, quantitative genetics, population genomics and transcriptomics. We also address related questions in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe), where we study how genetic correlations between environmental responses shape adaptation to osmotic, oxidative and temperature stress.