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Evolutionary Biology and Genomics

Department of Biology

Drexel Biology Department, photo of army ants busy emigrating

Studies from these disciplines focus on conservation, response to climate change, population genetics, physiological ecology, and the ecology and evolution of both social insects and symbiosis. Researchers use a combination of modeling, molecular ecology, genomics, and phylogenetics to address these focal areas. This work also combines manipulative and observational lab experiments with field research in sites across Costa Rica, central Africa, and the American subtropics.

Faculty Members

  Faculty Member Expertise
Sean O'Donnell, PhD
Professor
PISB 324
so356@drexel.edu
  • The O’Donnell Lab
  • Brain plasticity and the evolution of brain structure
  • Social behavior and division of labor, especially of eusocial Hymenoptera
  • Thermal ecology and thermal physiology
  • Network models of social group organization
  • Behavior and ecology of bird-army ant interactions
  • Human-safe insecticides
Meghan Phifer-Rixey
Associate Professor of Biology
PISB 320
Mp3754@drexel.edu
Jacob Russell
Professor
PISB 325
jar337@drexel.edu
  • Roles of bacterial symbionts in ant evolution
  • Function, stability, and dynamics of heritable symbiont communities in aphids
  • Genomic mechanisms driving correlations between symbiosis and insect ecology
  • Coevolutionary histories between insects and their microbes