OUR RESEARCH

In the Willoughby lab, we focus on using genomic data to inform conservation and disease management. Our primary research goal revolves around the conservation genetics of wild populations, particularly in understanding the spread of diseases and the implications of genomic variants on fitness. Our goal is to decipher how gene variants, or alleles, are distributed among landscapes and populations, how the frequencies of the alleles change over time. Such changes can often be attributed to the migration of individuals between different habitats and the impact of environmental shifts on genetic compositions, and these movements themselves influence disease resistance and population stability. Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for conserving our natural resources but also for managing infectious diseases.

OUR VALUES

The Willoughby Lab is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion because finding solutions to complex global problems require diverse viewpoints and skills. Our group is a space where everyone is encouraged to contribute their ideas because we recognize that the sum of our individual experiences and skills is better than any one individual voice. In this lab, we all aspire to be scholars with the confidence to contribute to our communities, lending to a richness of perspective that has been lacking.