Evolutionary Medicine

Complex diseases like Alzheimer’s are the net result of patterns and processes occurring at many scales and timespans. By employing principles of evolutionary biology in the study of human disease, we have a framework through which biomedical researchers can develop tractable hypotheses getting at fundamental principles underlying aging and neurodegeneration.

Neuromodulatory subcortical structures like the locus coeruleus are among the most deeply conserved regions of the brain. Curiously, they also appear to be the most vulnerable to age-related neurodegenerative changes. For example, across the range of tauopathies and synucleinopathies, the locus coeruleus and substantia nigra exhibit early and aggressive pathophysiologic changes. To help build a framework for biomedical researchers to study complex brain diseases, I pursue projects that reveal the patterns and processes underlying brain structure and selective vulnerability.

NEUROETHOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS TO WETLAND ECOTONE SYSTEMS IN CARNIVORA

Dynamic environments present a variety of selective pressures that give rise to novel behaviors and associated structures. Wetland ecotones are vigorously changing ecosystems, particularly in central Africa, which features two wet and two dry seasons annually. I am interested in how pressures exerted on Carnivoran lineages living in these ecosystems, particularly those pressures related to diet, drive brain and peripheral nervous system structure.