NYU Biology's growth in Evolutionary Biology has been built largely at the interfaces of disciplines already strong in the department: developmental genetics, genomics and systems biology, and molecular evolution/systematics. As such, areas of focus include: Molecular and Genomic Evolution, Evolutionary Systems Biology, Experimental Evolution, Evolution of Developmental Systems and Molecular Systematics/Phylogenetics. Research opportunities span different levels of organization, such as: molecular mechanisms underlying the evolution of genomes, gene-interaction networks, developmental and genetic processes, morphology and adaptive features, phylogenetic relationships and character evolution, the genetic/genomic architectures of populations, and the history of life on earth. Model organisms used in these studies include bacteria, single-celled eukaryotes, plants, nematode worms, flies and parasitic wasps, plants, cave fish, and primates. Theory and computational biology are regularly integrated with the experimental work to build explanatory models.
Major facilities and resources at NYU Biology supporting these studies include: the Sequencing (GenCore) Facility (high-throughput sequencing and expression analysis), the Computational Core, an Imaging Core (with confocal and other microscopes), and special collections (e.g. the NYU Rhabditid Collection with live strains of 150 nematode species). Our research and education missions in evolutionary biology are assisted by associations with other NYU departments (Anthropology, Computer Science), the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.