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I am evolutionary biologist with an interest in sexual selection and conflict. I apply the methods of modern genomics to try to understand how sexual selection and sexual conflict drive evolutionary change.
Currently
2023 - : I am an independent fellow at Stockholm University, Sweden. My work focuses on understanding the genomic basis of sexually antagonistic coevolution. My ongoing project investigates the consequences of natural variation in the sex-peptide network of Drosophila melanogaster on outcomes of mating interactions, and the fitness consequences for males and females.
In the past
2022 - 2023: I worked as a postdoc in the group of Dr. Elina Immonen at Uppsala University in Sweden. My work investigated gene expression changes in response to different forms of selection for increased sexual dimorphism in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus.
2017 - 2021: I worked as a post-doc in the group of Dr. Lukas Schärer at the University of Basel, in Switzerland, where my work involved comparative genomics in a genus of hermaphroditic flatworms called Macrostomum. My research focused on the molecular evolution of reproduction-related genes (genes expressed in the ovaries, testes and prostate glands) in the genus Macrostomum. I applied comparative methods to understand sequence evolution as well as gene gain and loss across several species of this genus. Additionally, worked on assembling genomes for additional species in this clade (M. hystrix and M. cliftonensis) to improve and expand the available genetic resources.
2014 - 2017: I conducted my PhD studies at the University of St Andrews under the supervision of Prof. Mike Ritchie. My main focus was on population genomic analyses of experimental evolution lines of Drosophila pseudoobscura under altered mating systems, and natural populations of Drosophila montana, an extremely cold-tolerant fly. A large component of my thesis focused on an experimental evolution system in D. pseudoobscura adapting to either high polyandry or enforced monogamy environments. These environments were taken to increase and decrease (respectively) the effects of sexual selection and sexual conflict. I developed novel methods to identify genomic marker alleles that had consistently changed in frequency between treatments across several replicated experiments. Several distinct regions showed SNPs with a consistent allele frequency difference between E and M lines across replicates. These regions contained genes involved in e.g. the cocktail of seminal fluid proteins passed along with the male ejaculate during mating.
2012 - 2013: For my M.Sc. thesis I assessed the signal of recent selection at long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) loci in the Mouse genome. lncRNAs with a known function showed signatures of recent selection comparable to protein coding genes while the majority of newly identified lncRNAs did not show such a signal. This suggests that a) the characteristic population genetic signals of reduced diversity at functional loci are a good indicator of function, and b) that the majority of novel lncRNA loci show no evidence of being functional loci.
2008 - 2012: For my B.Sc. thesis I studied sexual dimorphism in dance flies (Diptera: Empididae). Species vary in the levels of female ornamentation and in exaggerated male eye structures. Sexual conflict over matings and nuptial gift resource allocation as well as sexually antagonistic coevolution offer compelling explanations for patterns of covariation in male eye exaggerations and female ornamentation seen across taxa in this group of flies.
CV in brief
2023- : Independent Fellow, Stockholm University
2022-2023 : Post-doc, Immonen group, Uppsala University
2017-2021 : Post-doc, Schärer group, University of Basel
2013-2017 : Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology and Genomics, University of St Andrews, Scotland, (Supervised by Professor Mike Ritchie)
2012-2013 : M.Sc. in Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analysis, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
2008-2012 : B.Sc. in Animal Biology, University of Stirling, Scotland
1988 : Born, in Finland