Functional Ecology and Genomics deals with biological responses to natural and anthropogenic environmental change from the organism to the ecosystem level. Including understanding how genetic and plastic mechanisms shape organismal responses, how evolutionary processes and breeding influence population genomics, interactions between organisms, modelling of species distributions and the factors that impact functionality and biodiversity at various scales. With our work, we wish to contribute to securing future food security through developing high-value crops, alternative proteins and sustainable pest control; assessing global change impacts on insects, plants and microorganisms and getting a deeper insight into microbial physiology in order to understand changes in microbial systems.

Our research focuses on a range of organisms, including microorganisms, insects and plants. We work with domesticated/cultivated and wild populations studied in their natural habitats as well as in the field or under controlled conditions. We use a wide range of approaches including omics and sequencing methodologies, experimental evolution, artificial selection, physiological and phenological measurements and mathematical modelling.