Dr. Nicole Valenzuela

I am an evolutionary biologist broadly interested in understanding how ecology affects the structure, function, and evolution of the genome, and its role in the development and evolution of complex phenotypes, particularly the sexual phenotype. This helps us understand the evolution of biological diversity and how it responds to environmental change. My work integrates classic ecology, eco-genomics, phylo-genomics, and epigenetics, to understand the diversity of mechanisms by which males and females develop in different lineages, an outstanding biological question that remains unresolved. My research focuses on vertebrates, with turtles as a study system. My lab also develops genomic resources for the scientific community.