People

Matthew Rockman, PI

mrockman at nyu.edu

Matt is an evolutionary developmental quantitative geneticist, working to understand how the material causes of inheritance and development influence phenotypic variation and evolution.

Matt is known for dispensing sage advice to folks in the lab, typically “We have a worm for that,” or “Have you tried adding more worms?”

Sophie Tintori, postdoc

sophia.tintori at nyu.edu

Sophie is interested in the molecular variants that increase or decrease animals’ tolerance to ionizing radiation. In her research she is comparing the radiation sensitivities of wild nematodes from all over the world, including the contaminated areas in and around Chernobyl. By investigating the cell biology and genetics behind the differences in sensitivity, Sophie hopes to better understand some of the strategies that already exist for living in high-radiation environments.

Tuc Nguyen, postdoc

tuc.nguyen at nyu.edu

Previously trained as a yeast nerd, Tuc is transitioning (slowly but steadily) to a worm enthusiast in the Rockman Lab. Tuc is interested in understanding how variation in mitochondrial-nuclear genetic interactions modulates the pleiotropic effect of mitochondria on phenotypes. He is building a strain panel that allows examination of the effects of different mitonuclear interactions in response to various mitochondrially-targeted therapeutic drugs, hoping to inform research aimed at developing treatments for complex human diseases.

Tom Parée, postdoc

tp2685 at nyu.edu

Tom is interested in understanding the genotype-phenotype map and how genetic architecture is shaped by evolution. His particular focus lies in characterizing the distribution of dominance effects across genomes and understanding how previous selection has influenced it to gain a better understanding of heterozygous phenotypes. These questions are addressed through the application of quantitative genetics methods on a recombinant panel of wild isolates of the nematode Caenorhabditis becei.

Conor Gilligan, PhD student

cpg324 at nyu.edu

Conor studies the ecology and population genomics of the marine annelid, Streblospio benedicti. Populations of this worm exhibit a striking heritable dimorphism in life-history traits despite ongoing gene flow. Using whole-genome re-sequencing of wild populations, he aims to uncover the genetic targets of selection that help maintain distinct larval morphologies within the metapopulation.   

Jacqueline Jackson, PhD student

j.jackson at nyu.edu

Jacqueline is interested in animal behavior and discovering the factors that influence life-history traits of species. She aims to understand the effect of reproductive interference on Caenorhabditis species survival and reproductive success.

Jose Salome Correa, PhD student

jsc761 at nyu.edu

Jose is interested in population biology and comparative genomics to study the genetic basis for adaptation and selection. He uses bioinformatic approaches, molecular tools, and field-work, to study these topics in Caenorhabditis nematodes.

Sol Sloat, PhD student

sas958 at nyu.edu

Sol is interested in the genetics and evolution of sex ratios. He combines molecular tools, population biology, field work, and quantitative genetics to investigate a unique class of sex-ratio bias driven by sperm competition within Caenorhabditis nematodes. Sol aims to understand both the mechanistic basis of the sex-ratio distortion and the ecological forces that drive it.

Derin Caglar, lab manager and research technician

dc3547 at nyu.edu

Derin graduated from NYU with a degree in Neural Science and is interested in researching evolutionary genetics. He is currently working on a project with Caenorhabditis and Ocheius nematodes that is investigating natural variations in animals regarding tolerance to ionizing radiation. In the future he hopes to explore science communication as well.