The Pennell lab uses phylogenetic trees to understand how evolutionary, epidemiological, and immunological processes shape patterns of diversity. To study this, we develop statistical/computational methods, derive theoretical models, and conduct large-scale empirical analyses. Our group uses “tree thinking” to address three major types of biological questions.
First, we aim to understand how population genetic processes shape both the long-term evolution of phenotypes as well as the genetic architecture that underlies them. Recently our lab has been particularly focused on the evolution of functional genomic characteristics, such as gene expression. In this work we want to understand how selection, mutation, and drift shape the amount of mRNA or protein a cell produces.
Second, we investigate the evolution of the adaptive immune system. Specifically, we study how the genes that encode antibodies and T-cell receptors diverge among populations and species and the consequences this evolution has on the ability of an organism to defend itself from pathogens.
Third, we study the processes that generate diversity in the number of biological lineages. This research applies to a diverse array of fields from cell biology to epidemiology to macroevolution.
