<i>Research Interests</i>
Significant theoretical work has been conducted to explain how complex societies may have evolved. For the most part, an insect's behavior is governed by the genetic information inherited from its parents. It should thus be possible to discover the molecular-genetic mechanisms determining behavior.
My aim is to contribute to unraveling the molecular basis of how sociality evolved and of how genes control interactions between a society's members. To address this question, I work with the red fire ant Solenopsis invicta, a species which has been extensively studied due in part to its status as an invasive pest around the world.
The genomic tools I use include expression assays using cDNA microarrays, and bioinformatics analyses (with help from our ant genomics database, Vital-IT, Bioruby, R/Bioconductor and some hacking.
See also my personal webpage.