Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology

Stephen Proulx

Visit my homepage at:
http://www.proulxresearch.org

In my research I use mathematical tools to study problems in evolutionary ecology. My goal is to reveal the underlying mechanisms that cause evolutionary change, recognizing that these changes occur against the backdrop of ecological dynamics. By understanding the mathematical details that lead to particular evolutionary dynamics, I hope to both increase our understanding of the forces that generate observed patterns and produce testable hypotheses.

Much of my current work is focused on understanding the evolutionary forces that structure genomes. Do genomes evolve to be robust? How do multi-gene families form? What evolutionary forces act to shape the machinery of DNA replication, transcription, and translation? My research has shown that environmental and ecological context play a surprisingly large role in the evolution of these basic genomic features.