Research group
Research overview
My main area of interest is the evolution and development of floral features that attract pollinating animals. I’m keen to approach questions of floral evolution in an integrative way, combining molecular genetic approaches to understand floral development with functional analyses using bumblebees and other pollinators. Where possible, these projects are carried out with regards to the phylogenetic context.
School of Biological Sciences theme affiliations
Teaching
Part IA Evolution and Behaviour, Part IB Plant and Microbial Science and Part II Plant Sciences on the Natural Sciences Tripos, as well as the MPhil in Developmental Biology.
Previous positions
2013-present Director of Cambridge University Botanic Garden
2013-present Professor of Plant Systematics and Evolution, University of Cambridge
2010-2013 Reader in Evolution and Development, University of Cambridge
1999-2010 Senior Lecturer in Plant Molecular Genetics, University of Cambridge
1996-1999 Research Fellow, Queen’s College, University of Cambridge
Qualifications
1993-1996 PhD in Plant Development, John Innes Centre
1989-1993 BSc Plant and Environmental Biology, University of St Andrews
Websites
Key publications
'Multiple gene co-options underlie the rapid evolution of sexually deceptive flowers in Gorteria diffusa' (2023) Current Biology S0960-9822(23)00270-1
'Cuticle chemistry drives the development of diffraction gratings on the surface of Hibiscus trionum petals' (2022) Current Biology 32, 5323-5334.
'Mechanical buckling can pattern the light-diffracting cuticle of Hibiscus trionum' (2021) Cell Reports 36 (11), 109715.
'TTG1 proteins regulate circadian activity as well as epidermal cell fate and pigmentation' (2019) Nature Plants 5, 1145-1153
All publications
Awards and fellowships
- Linnean Society Bicentenary Medal
- William Bate Hardy Prize of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 2010
- British Ecological Society Marsh Book of the Year Award, 2009
- Pilkington Prize for Teaching, University of Cambridge 2021
- Cambridge University Students Union Student Led Teaching Award - Best Lecturer 2022
Committees
Council Member, European Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology
Patron, Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust
Vice-President, Cambridgeshire Beekeepers’ Association
Member, Editorial Board of Current Biology
Member, Advisory Board of New Phytologist
Member, Editorial Board of Current Opinion in Plant Biology
Member, NERC peer review college
Member, Science Advisory Committee of the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh
Member, Scientific Advisory Board of the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
