I am a bioinformatician and plant geneticist experienced in developing and improving new genetic resources for diverse non-model species. I love the challenge of figuring out pipelines that use limited genetic data in unexpected and creative ways to identify and explore plant variation. I’ve worked on pothos, sorrel, morning glories, hummingbirds, lizards, and host-parasite interactions across a broad range of animals.
Currently, I’m a post-doctoral fellow with Gina Baucom at the University of Michigan. Before that, I worked at a startup and spent time as a postdoc with Spencer Barrett and Stephen Wright at the University of Toronto on the evolution of separate sexes and of sex chromosomes in plants. I completed my PhD in Mark Rausher’s lab at Duke University on the evolution of the selfing syndrome in self-pollinated plants and the development of reproductive isolating barriers between species. In the distant past, I worked with Charlie Nunn at Harvard University and Ethan Temeles at Amherst College. I grew up in Cambridge, MA. Because I hold dual US/UK citizenship, I live in Canada.
Joanna Rifkin 