Bio: Madeleine Carruthers (PhD student)

I joined the Elmer lab in 2014 to study for my PhD, prior to which I completed my Masters of Research here at the University of Glasgow.  I’ve always had a keen interest in the ability of animals to adapt to changing and novel environments.  My previous research looked at the impact of ocean acidification and global warming on marine calcifiers, and investigated how the physiological response of organisms to these environmental stresses changed over time.

My current research, which is funded through the BBSRC West-bio Partnership, focuses on the ecological transcriptomics of trophic divergence in post-glacial freshwater fish complexes.  I hope to take advantage of the new technologies available in the field of ‘omics’ to explore the molecular underpinnings of phenotypic plasticity, and its potential role in adaptive radiation and speciation events.

The body of my research will centre round the genetics of rapidly evolving divergent phenotypes, namely differential gene expression, both within and between salmonid species.  But I will also investigate the morphological and physiological aspects associated with plasticity and adaptation, as part of my collaboration with the Scottish Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment.

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