Tadeusz J. Kawecki
Associate Professor

I am interested in the evolution of adaptive traits, particularly in response to novel, variable and stressful environments. In the last few years research in my group has focused on two subjects: evolutionary biology of learning and adaptation to chronic nutritional stress. We use the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster for our experiments; we also use mathematical and computer models. For details, see the group webpage http://www.unil.ch/dee/page47688_en.html

In addition to my research, I am committed to serving the community of evolutionary biologists as the Secretary of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology.

I organize the Evolutionary Biology Workshop in the Alps. The focus of this annual workshop, which brings together a mixture of Swiss and foreign PhD and Master students as well as invited faculty, is to develop the ability to think clearly about research, to develop and defend research projects, and to write research proposals.

Born September 1, 1966 in Poland
M.Sc. 1990, in Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
Ph.D. 1993, in Zoology, University of Basel, Switzerland

1993-1995:
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki, Finland
1995-1998:
Research Associate, University of Maryland at College Park, USA
1998-2001:
Lecturer, University of Basel, Switzerland
2001-2007:
Lecturer, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
2007-
Associate Professor, University of Lausanne

(for a full list with pdfs see here)

Vijendravarma, R. K., Narasimha, S. & Kawecki, T. J. 2012. Chronic malnutrition favours smaller critical size for metamorphosis initiation in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Evolutionary Biology in press (DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02419.x)

Burger, J. M. S., Buechel, S. D. & Kawecki, T. J. 2010. Dietary restriction affects lifespan but not cognitive aging in Drosophila melanogaster. Aging Cell 9: 327-335.

Kawecki, T. J. 2008. Adaptation to marginal habitats. Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics 39: 321–342.

Mery, F., Belay, A. T., So, A. K. C., Sokolowski, M. B. & Kawecki, T. J. 2007. Natural polymorphism affecting learning and memory in Drosophila. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104: 13051-13055.

Kawecki, T. J. & Ebert, D. 2004. Conceptual issues in local adaptation. Ecology Letters 7: 1225-1241.

Mountaineering, birdwatching, volleyball.

With Mark Kirkpatrick on Piz Morteratsch