The Department of Anthropology presents
"The evolution of the primate dentition, as the genome sees it"
By
Dr. Leslea J. Hlusko
Department of Integrative Biology
University of California
http://ib.berkeley.edu/labs/hlusko/index.php
Hlusko's research team explores how genes influence skeletal variation and how this has evolved through time. They use a transdisciplinary approach that includes quantitative genetics and gene expression studies to better understand how genetic mechanisms pattern the dentition. From these genetic data they develop hypotheses about the genetic architecture underlying primate dental variation, and then test these using phenotypic data from museum skeletal collections. In conjunction, she conducts field paleontology in eastern Africa, as fossils provide the time dimension for further testing these hypotheses about the relationship between genotype and phenotype.
