Research Units

The Algorithms for Ecological and Evolutionary Genomics Unit develops computer algorithms for core problems in genomics to study the genomes of every extant species on our planet.

The Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit explores how ecological and evolutionary processes generate and sustain biodiversity, and how those processes are being altered by human activities.

Using a mouse model, the Cell Signal Unit explores the cause of various diseases that include cancer, neuronal disorders, immunological diseases, and diabetes/obesity at the molecular level....

The ECBS unit studies the effects of symbiotic interactions on the origin and evolution of cellular life.

The Evolutionary Genomics Unit studies the evolution of insects and their associated symbionts.

The Genomics and Regulatory Systems Unit combines computational and experimental methods to study principles of gene regulation during early organismal development, using Oikopleura dioica as a model organism.

We use the genomes of Neandertals and Denisovans, the closest evolutionary relatives of present-day humans, to identify genomic variants that are unique to modern humans.

Our unit employs theory-informed experiments, genetics, and mathematical models to identify how species interactions vary over time and space to influence ecosystem dynamics and functioning.

The Marine Climate Change Unit aims to understand how coral reef fish respond to human society driven environmental changes such as climate change, heatwaves, overfishing, and urbanization.

Most coral reef fishes have an incredible colors but why and how do they appear ? We use clownfish as a model we decipher the origins of the colors and how the fish are using them.

Exploring marine genomic diversity helps understanding organism responses to environmental change in the past and future, both in terms of large-scale evolution and within their ecosystems.

Our unit focuses on understanding how environmental changes impact soil microbes, particularly those that are symbiotic with or pathogenic to plants, and drive biogeochemical cycling.

The Model-Based Evolutionary Genomics Unit works at the crossroads of computational and evolutionary biology. Our long-term goal is to achieve an integrative understanding of the evolution of Life on Earth and the origins and emergence of complexity across different biological scales, from individual proteins to ecosystems. To move towards this goal, we develop and apply model-driven evolutionary genomics methods to reconstruct the Tree of Life and the major evolutionary transitions that have occurred along its branches.

Work in the Molecular Genetics Unit combines comparative genomics, population genetic modeling, and genetic mapping. The unit uses new approaches for sequencing and analyzing genomes to inve...

(Closed since June 2025) The unit studied natural time series data, from NLP to genome sequences to cephalopod camouflage, with dynamical systems and machine learning methods, letting the data lead the way.

The major goal of our research is to understand biological significance of epigenetic regulation of genes and transposons for environmental adaptation and genome evolution in plants.