Alex Dornburg, Ph.D.

In my lab group, we aim to develop a better understanding of the general principles that have given rise to the diversity of living vertebrates and enabled their persistence. This knowledge not only allows us to gain a better understanding of the evolution of our own genomes, but also provides critical historical context for emergent challenges to both human health and conservation.

We are currently focusing on three core research topics:

1. The factors that shaped marine fish biodiversity; with an emphasis on the mechanisms and functional consequences of gene family diversification in the innate immune system
2. Leveraging the power of phylogenomic comparative methods to better understand critical aspects of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 biology such as the durability of immunity following infections and the genetic mechanisms that enable zoonosis
3. The development of theory and software to aid comparative phylogenomic research

These topics work towards a goal of illuminating general rules of vertebrate evolution. In turn, this understanding can be applied to facilitate more effective stewardship of our planet, inform public health decision making, and establish a foundation for predicting the association of gene clusters with human health phenotypes.

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