Ryan Brock
Master's by Research Student, Comparative Genomics
Former lab member
Position: Master’s by Research student
Project: Comparative genomics of social evolution
Research Interests: Eusociality represents an advanced state of social organisation defined by adult colonial members belonging to two or more overlapping generations, exhibiting cooperative care for the young, and being divided into reproductive and non-reproductive castes. Across the bees, wasps and ants, eusociality has independently arisen on at least eight occasions.
My research interests lie primarily in the changes which occur at the genetic level during these major evolutionary transitions from ancestral solitary living to present-day eusociality. By utilising available genomic and transcriptomic data for a range of bees, wasps and ants at different rungs of the “social ladder”, my project takes a comparative computational approach to elucidate how the genome changes (or stays the same) during social evolution.
See my blog (covering recent papers relating to eusociality) at youmeeusociality.wordpress.com.
Background
- 2015–present: MSc by Research, University of Bristol
- 2012–2015: BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia
Contact: rb15971@bristol.ac.uk / ryanbrock94@aol.com