I am a BBSRC-funded PhD student at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter studying sex, selfish genes, and insecticide resistance in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. I recently completed an MSc in Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology, and a BSc (Hons) in Evolutionary Biology at the same institution.
My PhD research will explore the fitness consequences of insecticide resistance in D. melanogaster, where resistance is conferred by a recently-discovered allelic series at the Cyp6g1 locus featuring copy number variation and nested transposable element insertions. Alleles in the series are associated with large sex differences in DDT resistance with sexually antagonistic effects on reproductive performance in certain genetic backgrounds. I aim to investigate the mechanistic basis of these sex-specific effects, and how the potential for sexual conflict might influence the spread of resistance through populations. My research is supervised by Professor David Hosken and Professor Nina Wedell.