'searching for the origin of species in the crowds of Indonesia'
Arif Maulana
Welcome to my homepage!
I am a first-year PhD student of biological sciences (evolutionary biology) at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Cambridge, UK.
We have come far in identifying the genetic makeup of traits that underlie adaptation and speciation in various range of organisms. However, many of these studies primarily focus on cases with a relatively simple genetic basis on easily observable traits, which may not fully reflect the complexity found in nature. As an evolutionary biologist, I am enthusiastic about integrating genomics with ecological and experimental work to dissect the genetic and genomic basis of polygenic traits, such as behaviour and crucially its functional follow-up to obtain a more mechanistic understanding of possible biophysical or developmental constraints that lead to the use of particular mutations or genes in adaptation and speciation. To achieve this, I investigate cases involving recent range expansion and colonisation of species that rapidly adapting to novel habitats, capturing snapshots of evolution-in-action.
You can also find me on my official Sanger page here. If you would like to ask questions, comments or collaborate, feel free to contact me by email.