ASSISTANT PROFESSOR @SCARB
Research directions
Currently, my research can be partitioned into three main directions. Common to them all is that I apply whole genome sequencing and population and evolutionary genetic methods to study them:
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Genetic admixture in Asian cattle - wild and domestic
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Ruminant evolultionary genomics
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African wildlife genetics
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See below for more information about these projects. Note that I am expanding my research group, and there will be possibilities to join my group staring from 2020.
1. Genetic admixture in Asian cattle
In an ongoing DFF funded project I will investigate the genetic structure of indigenous Indonesian cattle breeds and the closely related banteng (Bos javanicus). This will also involve the domesticated version of the banteng called Bali cattle in Indonesia. This project is a close collaboration with IPB University in Indonesia and Copenhagen Zoo.
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In an ERC funded project I will extend this view and look at genetic admixture and adaptive introgression across all the Southeast Asian members of the Bos genus. This is a large project for which I will be hiring several post docs in 2020-2024.
2. Ruminant evolutionary genomics
Since 2016 I have co-PIed the international Ruminant Genome Project, a large effort to sequence genomes from wild ruminants with the aim of improving our understanding the evolutionary success of this fascinating group of animals. We published the first phase of this effort as a special issue in Science in June 2019. This data set consists of 44 new genome assemblies and several transcriptomic data sets. We made a dedicated web site hosting this large data set.
Many more studies are underway - stay tuned, and contact me if you are interested in becoming associated with this exciting project!
3. African wildlife genetics
Africa and its large mammals is where it all started for me, and where my interest in wildlife genetics was kindled. I am still actively interested in a range of questions related to the African megafauna - see the back story below.
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My research in African wildlife genetics include speciation, how the geography and climate impact evolutionary processes such as population divergence and adaptation.
Bckground: African megafauna and the African anomaly
Africa has by far the largest (in terms of biomass) and most diverse (in terms of species richness) megafauna among all the continents. Two factors has contributed to this: Africa seems to historically "generate" mammal diversity quite readily and Africa escaped the brunt of the late Pleistocene mass extinction of large mammals. This uniqueness in terms of large mammals is sometimes referred to as the "African anomaly". Much of my research relates to trying to explain the two abovementioned factors of the African anomaly, that is to understand why and how variation (phenotypic as well as genetic) is generated and why and how African wildlife did not suffer much species extinction at the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene. The third major element of my research relates to the conservation of this unique fauna, which involves using genetics to make informed decisions about how to manage the biodiversity of large mammals.
