Research 

Research Projects

Our current research includes the following projects: 

• a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship, looking at the molecular mechanisms underlying resilience to climate change in the kuku (Green-lipped Mussel, Perna canaliculus, also known as the kūtai). More information is available from the Royal Society of New Zealand website here

• a Marsden Fund FastStart, to examine the embryological development of kuku at single cell resolution. We will contrast the development of this species under varying conditions, and compare differential responses. More information is available here.

• a University of Otago Research Grant. This will look at the genetic control of shell formation in embryonic kuku using scATACseq and other techniques

• Indigenous Genomics Platform (Genomics Aotearoa) projects 

  • • establishing molecular tools to support Māori-lead initiatives in agriculture and aquaculture, alongside Wakatū Incorporation (Nelson)

    • Working alongside hapori Māori to support kaitiakitanga of kaimoana across Te Waipounamu

• a Catalyst Seeding funded project looking into genetic underpinnings of, and climate tolerance provided by, the coloration of sea stars, alongside collaborators from the UK, Japan and Australia

• Coastal People Southern Skies funded collaborations, looking at resilience to climate change in a range of species

• MBIE Endeavour-funded projects (commencing late 2023) looking into resilience of finfish and molluscs - details will be popped up soon!

• Explorations of freshwater sponge diversity and ecosystem functionality, alongside hapori Māori and local community groups

We are helped in this work by a number of exceptionally kind collaborators, particularly including the Cawthron Institute, Wakatū Incorporation and SPATnz.

Our research group:

• Studies Aotearoa's endemic species using the latest genomic techniques, to understand their evolution at a diversity of scales

• Investigates novelties found in unusual animals or lineages, from New Zealand and further afield

• Utilises this knowledge to discover potential new products and approaches, understand animal evolution, and safeguard species into the future

• Works in collaboration with a diverse range of groups, both local (especially mana whenua) and international, to share this knowledge as widely as possible 

Major themes of our research have included:

• Lophotrochozoan (and particularly mollusc) genomics

• Applying single cell RNAseq and ATACseq methods to non-model organisms

• Adaptation to extreme cold (for example, the ADAPTOMICs project, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/750937?rcn=4110)

• Freshwater adaptation (especially Porifera)

• The origins and evolution of the juvenile hormone and ecdysteroid cascades in non-insect arthropods

• BMP signalling, and particularly its role in establishing L/R asymmetry in lophotrochozoan organisms