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Welcome to Angus Davison's lab website.
I am an Associate Professor and Reader in Evolutionary Genetics in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham. I run a research lab, teach undergraduates and supervise postgraduates. I am also the Careers Officer for the Biology group of degrees. This is my lab home page, otherwise see my University home page, LinkedIn page or @angus_davison.
In my lab, we use snails to understand evolutionary and developmental genetics. In one project, we are using snails to understand the left-right symmetry breaking event that takes place during early development, using both lab and field-based studies: just how is chirality determined at the molecular level? In another project, we are investigating the evolutionary origins of supergenes, using the charismatic snail Cepaea. Finally, as snails are one of the most speciose groups, we are using new technologies to understand how this biodiversity has come about, by investigating a model adaptive radiation of snails in subtropical Japan (Ogasawara). All of these projects are technology led: new DNA sequencing techniques are enabling us to do what was not possible only a few years ago.
"Nature is often complicated" is the opening line from Bryan Clarke's 1979 paper "The evolution of genetic diversity" (Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 205, 453-474).
A successful defence
A successful defence - Paul Richards passed his PhD, on "Polymorphism and Speciation in Pulmonate Land Snails: New Perspectives from Restriction Site Associated DNA Sequencing". The Internal examiner was Dr Sara Goodacre and the external was Dr John Grahame. Congratulations Paul!
Professor Bryan Clarke FRS
Professor Bryan Clarke, FRS, a long-time collaborator, mentor and eminent person of evolutionary genetics has died.
Supergene paper in Nature (again)
A fascinating supergene paper has just been published in Nature - the surprising finding is that a single gene is implicated, but further is intrigue is added by the likely involvement of an inversion, just as in the previous supergene paper, in another species of butterfly. Time is ripe to tackle the problem of supergenes in our favourite snail, Cepaea nemoralis?
New MRes student
Welcome to MRes student, Nebis Navarro, who joined us from Columbia in September. Nebis will investigating the extinct Partula species that we have in our freezer, with a view to finding out how much of the collection is viable for DNA based research.