Peter Lind (Associate Professor, Group leader)

peter.lind@umu.se

My current research is focused on predicting evolution on different biological levels. We use modelling and bioinformatics to make predictions that can then be tested by experimental evolution in the lab. I did my PhD with Dan Andersson at Uppsala University studying mutational biases and the fitness effects of mutations and horizontal gene transfer. Then I did a postdoc with Paul Rainey, Massey University, working on the diversity of genetic and phenotypic experimental evolution. I am now an Associate Professor at the Department of Molecular Biology at Umeå University, where I lead a diverse group of talented researchers with aim of developing the field of evolutionary forecasting.

Ciaran Gilchrist (Postdoc)

ciaran.gilchrist@umu.se

I am an evolutionary biologist, with a background in experimental evolution, microbiology, genomics, population genetics and molecular biology. During my PhD with Rike Stelkens (Stockholm University), I used experimental evolution in Baker’s yeast to uncover the role of genetic variation and hybridisation in adaptation, as well as looking into the role of aneuploidy in adaptation. Since moving to Umeå, I have focused on uncovering the role of evolution in multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. For this, I use a combination of lab-based experimental evolution, molecular and microbiological techniques, and computer-based genomics and bioinformatics. In my spare time I like to perform music including Scots folk fiddle tunes, choir songs and, more recently, music on the piano. Google scholar page

Suvam Roy (Postdoc)

suvam.roy@umu.se

I am a Mathematical Biologist. My doctoral research at IISER Kolkata focused on the Origin of Life, where I showed how primitive cells might have emerged on the Earth. Currently at Umeå University, I am developing models of bacterial gene regulation corresponding to the genes that are linked with antibiotic resistance, and trying to measure the effect of mutation and horizontal transfer on those gene regulatory networks under antibiotic stress. Google scholar page

Aparna Biswas (PhD student)

aparna.biswas@umu.se

I am a medical doctor with master’s degrees in biotechnology and molecular biology. My PhD thesis is focused on predicting experimental evolution of biofilm mutants for different Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. I am also interested in the relevance of mutations found in laboratory experimental evolution for clinical isolates.

Axel Karlsson (PhD student)

axel.karlsson@umu.se

I am biotech engineer and my PhD research is focused on predicting and steering the evolution of multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Alumns

Yashraj Chavhan (Postdoc)

yashraj.chavhan@umu.se

During my doctoral studies at IISER Pune, I used a combination of experimental evolution and agent-based models to understand how population size shapes adaptation and trade-offs in asexual systems. At Umeå University, I am currently attempting to develop approaches to forecast the evolution of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria by determining mutational biases across diverse resistance mechanisms and mapping them to the direct and collateral fitness effects of mutations.

Yashraj is now an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Thiruvananthapuram. Lab web page

Jennifer Pentz (Postdoc)

I am an evolutionary biologist who did my PhD in Biology on the transition from uni- to multicellularity with Will Ratcliff at Georgia Tech (Will Ratcliff). During my postdoc in Umeå I have shown that the wrinkly spreader experimental evolution model can be extended to several different Pseudomonas species. Recently my research has also focused on predicting the evolution of multidrug resistance in P. aeruginosa.

Jennifer moved on to do a postdoc in Eric Hanschen’s group at Los Alamos National lab and is now starting her independent research there.

Anthony Sun (Postdoc)

I am a theoretical ecologist with a background in pharmacy and I am broadly interested in the mathematical modelling of eco-evolutionary processes, based on biologically realistic assumptions, using differential or difference equations and numerical simulations. After studies in France, I did my PhD in Germany on social-ecological models of eutrophication in shallow freshwater lakes with Frank Hilker at Osnabrück University. I used ODEs and evolutionary game theory. As I wanted to turn more toward evolution, I have joined Peter Lind’s lab to work on predicting the evolution of antibiotics resistance.

Anthony is now a postdoc with Ville Mustonen at Helsinki University.