Research

Reserach projects in the lab include, but are not limited to:

• Developing resources for genome-wide association mapping in Arabidopsis thaliana.  This large, collaborative project, which is the major focus of the lab in terms of effort, is described in detail here.
• Investigating the genetic basis of adaptively important traits in A. thaliana, mainly through genome-wide association mapping, and usually in collaboration with functional biologists.  We focus on adaptation to the abiotic environment (in particular flowering-time as part of a long-standing collaboration with Caroline Dean), but we collaborate extensively with other groups who work on everything from pathogen resistance to broad analyses of ion concentrations ("ionomics").
• Population and comparative genomics of A. thaliana and related species.  We seek to understand the evolutionary forces that govern the pattern of variation in these species by analyzing the fantastic amount of data currently being generated.
  
• Developing statistical methods for association mapping, in particular in structured populations.
  
• Developing basic population genetics theory, especially for genomic polymorphism data.
  
• The genetics of speciation in Aquilegia.  In collaboration with, inter al., Scott Hodges, we seek to understand the genetic basis for the incredible morphological diversity in this genus.
• The genetics of major differences between dog breeds.  In collaboration with, inter al., Elaine Ostrander, Bob Wayne, and Carlos Bustamante, we seek to understand the genetic basis for the incredible morphological diversity in this species.
  

The above listing is far from complete, and new collaborations constantly develop.  It should be emphasized that, although the lab is strongly focused on Arabidopsis, the questions we seek to answer, and the tools we use to answer them, are part of basic (population) genetics.  We work on data from other organisms whenever it seems appropriate.