Liana Burghardt, candidate for assistant professor of biology in genomics, discusses her research Jan. 18, 2018

The UAA Department of Biological Sciences invites you to a research seminar presented by Dr. Liana Burghardt, candidate for assistant professor of biology in genomics, on Thursday, Jan. 18, 10:30 a.m.-noon in Rasmuson Hall, Room 101.

Integrating genomics into studies of adaptation to climatic drivers and biotic partners Broadly, my research addresses the following questions: 1) How do organisms adapt to the diverse environmental conditions they experience in nature? 2) How does evolution create the genetic and phenotypic variation we observe? 3) How does the environmental sensitivity of traits influence evolutionary processes, coexistence, and species ranges? To answers these questions, I bridge traditional disciplinary lines integrating predictive models of traits and evolution, classic field and laboratory experimental techniques, and cutting-edge computational, statistical, and genomic tools. Importantly, my research process is bidirectional: empirical work informs models and models generate hypotheses that can be tested empirically. In this talk I will describe how I have leveraged the molecular, genetic, and functional resources developed for two model systems: Arabidopsis thaliana, in which I study adaptation to abiotic environmental variation over space and time, and Ensifer and Medicago truncatula, a legume-rhizobia mutualism in which I study the effects of abiotic and biotic variation experienced across generations. Understanding and predicting the genotype to phenotype relationships given the environment is important for understanding evolutionary processes across scales from genes to communities. These questions have taken on greater urgency in an era of rapid global change and the answers are key to continued agricultural improvement and development of conservation tools. -Liana Burghardt

After graduating from Carleton College, Liana Burghardt spent two years researching in the lab of Johanna Schmitt at Brown University. She then moved to Duke University to work with Kathleen Donohue. Since obtaining her doctorate in 2015, she has worked as a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of Peter Tiffin at the University of Minnesota.

Burghardt is the first of four candidates to visit campus. Details on the other three candidate presentations will be announced soon.

January Archive