Research interests
The Evolution of Human Diversity and its Impact on Health and Disease. My interests are in how the evolutionary dynamic between humans and their environments has shaped the complexity of human biology, given rise to human diversity and left a lasting impact on our health and wellbeing. I have a particular interest in the role of natural selection in the evolution of differences in personality, cognitive style and social behaviour, its impact on heath, welfare and human potential, and its implications for education, healthcare and the management of organizations and social institutions. Current work in my lab involves analysis of variation at specific genes to identify and characterise both signals of natural selection and associations with personality and behavioural traits, measures of cognitive performance, and health outcomes. The evolutionary analysis is underpinned by a substantial collection of genetic samples from human and other primate species. We are developing and applying new approaches to detecting and measuring the effects of diversifying selection in non-equilibrium populations.