Abhilesh Dhawanjewar
Evolutionary Geneticist & Bioinformatician
MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit
University of Cambridge
Room 2.2
The Keith Peters Building
Cambridge Biomedical Campus
Cambridge, UK - CB2 0XY
I am an Evolutionary biologist passionate about understanding the mechanistic processes that produced the diversity of Life on Earth. I specialize in integrating empirical and computational approaches towards developing a holistic understanding of evolutionary processes.
Currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Genetics, Evolution and Environment department at University College London with Prof. Max Reuter and Dr. Aida Andres, my research focuses on how sex-specific traits evolve despite sharing a common genome. We use a combination of experimental evolution, genomics, and statistical modelling to understand the genetic basis of sexual antagonism.
Prior to this, I received my Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I worked with Dr. Kristi Montooth and Dr. Colin Meiklejohn on the co-evolution between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Through phenotypic assays with Drosophila hybrids, I characterized the effects of incompatible mitochondrial-nuclear interactions on the thermal senstivity of male reproduction. Combining phylogenetic, biological sequence and protein structure analysis, I also characterized disease-causing mutations in proteins of the electron transport chain.
I recieved my Integrated BS-MS Dual Degree in Bioinformatics from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, where I worked on research projects in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Structural Biology. For my Masters thesis, I developed statistical methods to assess the stability of higher-order protein-protein interactions. This work is implemented as a webserver called Protein Interaction Z-Score Assessment (PIZSA).
News
Jun 10, 2024 | Participated in the EMBO Population Genomics: Background and Tools Course in Naples, Italy. Presented a poster on the use of Approximate Bayesian Computation in detecting sexually antagonistic selection. Lots of in-depth discussions on the use of population genomic tools in understanding complex evolutionary processes. |
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Dec 22, 2023 | Selected for participation in the Genetics Society of America’s Peer Review Training Program. I will be serving as a reviewer for the journals Genetics and G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. |
Jun 02, 2023 | Published a miniReview on Multilevel Selection on mtDNA in Current Opinion in Genetics & Development |
Sep 05, 2022 | Joined University College London’s GEE department as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to work with Prof. Max Reuter and Dr. Aida Andres on Sexual Antagonistic Variation in Drosophila melanogaster. |
Latest Posts
Apr 27, 2018 | Beats of Stress |
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