Research in the Whiteman Lab
Most researchers in our group study interactions between drosophilid flies and their host plants. We have developed a new model system for studying plant-herbivore interactions, involving the drosophilid fly Scaptomyza flava and the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which it attacks in nature. We also conduct genetic engineering in the 'fruit' or vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster to study the function of loci involved in herbivory.
Why do we study the evolution of parasitism and host resistance? Parasites are incredibly successful ecologically and evolutionarily, and our research helps us understand how these organisms evolved. Parasites cause enormous harm to crops, livestock and companion animals, wildlife and humans. Using model systems may help to identify common mechanisms parasites evolved to colonize and live in their hosts, which may allow for better control strategies.
A smaller lab project involves the broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL). We use that system to identify the the genomic architecture underlying variation in foraging traits, and to understand the evolutionary history of those loci. This is a collaborative project with Ph.D. candidate Nicolas Alexandre, Professor Mary (Cassie) Stoddard at Princeton University and Professor David Inouye at the RMBL.
Ph.D. student Tim O'Connor has developed his own model system, involving creosote plant and its community of herbivores.
We welcome contact from prospective collaborators, lab members and others. Professor Whiteman is a Principal Investigator in the Center for Computational Biology and can advise Ph.D. and undergraduate students in this program, in addition to students in the Department of Integrative Biology. Professor Whiteman is also an affiliated faculty member of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and faculty curator of plant-animal coevolution in the University and Jepson Herbaria. To learn more, please visit individual lab member pages or email Professor Whiteman.
Most of the research in the Whiteman Laboratory is supported by an R35 Outstanding Investigator Award (Maximizing Investigator's Research Award for Early State Investigators) from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (1R35GM119816) of the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful for this support.
Our research questions all center on the origin and maintenance of biodiversity, across many levels of biological organization. I encourage you to visit the individual pages of researchers associated with my laboratory in order to understand the breadth and depth of our interests. Most researchers in my laboratory study interactions between a fly, a host plant, and their associated bacteria, but others focus on hummingbirds and their nectar plants, or creosote plants and associated insect communities. My own research program, which includes the interests and contributions of many of my students and postdoctoral mentees, is below. I provide quite a bit of detail because the topics are not particularly well-suited to brevity. An interesting feature of scientific research is that one often does not know the current research program of a laboratory by studying the publications that the laboratory has produced: this is because such studies are complete. So, I provide you below with my most current research interests, which are collaborative projects with my students.
Thanks for reading!
Dr. Noah K. Whiteman
Why do we study the evolution of parasitism and host resistance? Parasites are incredibly successful ecologically and evolutionarily, and our research helps us understand how these organisms evolved. Parasites cause enormous harm to crops, livestock and companion animals, wildlife and humans. Using model systems may help to identify common mechanisms parasites evolved to colonize and live in their hosts, which may allow for better control strategies.
A smaller lab project involves the broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL). We use that system to identify the the genomic architecture underlying variation in foraging traits, and to understand the evolutionary history of those loci. This is a collaborative project with Ph.D. candidate Nicolas Alexandre, Professor Mary (Cassie) Stoddard at Princeton University and Professor David Inouye at the RMBL.
Ph.D. student Tim O'Connor has developed his own model system, involving creosote plant and its community of herbivores.
We welcome contact from prospective collaborators, lab members and others. Professor Whiteman is a Principal Investigator in the Center for Computational Biology and can advise Ph.D. and undergraduate students in this program, in addition to students in the Department of Integrative Biology. Professor Whiteman is also an affiliated faculty member of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and faculty curator of plant-animal coevolution in the University and Jepson Herbaria. To learn more, please visit individual lab member pages or email Professor Whiteman.
Most of the research in the Whiteman Laboratory is supported by an R35 Outstanding Investigator Award (Maximizing Investigator's Research Award for Early State Investigators) from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (1R35GM119816) of the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful for this support.
Our research questions all center on the origin and maintenance of biodiversity, across many levels of biological organization. I encourage you to visit the individual pages of researchers associated with my laboratory in order to understand the breadth and depth of our interests. Most researchers in my laboratory study interactions between a fly, a host plant, and their associated bacteria, but others focus on hummingbirds and their nectar plants, or creosote plants and associated insect communities. My own research program, which includes the interests and contributions of many of my students and postdoctoral mentees, is below. I provide quite a bit of detail because the topics are not particularly well-suited to brevity. An interesting feature of scientific research is that one often does not know the current research program of a laboratory by studying the publications that the laboratory has produced: this is because such studies are complete. So, I provide you below with my most current research interests, which are collaborative projects with my students.
Thanks for reading!
Dr. Noah K. Whiteman