Research
Morphological innovations allow organisms to adapt to new niches and exploit new ecological opportunities, yet how such innovations arise has been a longstanding problem in evolutionary biology. A mechanistic understanding of the cellular and molecular bases of morphological innovations relies on organismal models amenable to experiments in a laboratory setting. In my laboratory we exploit the fascinating four-eyed fish Anableps anableps as a model for investigating innovations of the visual system. Anableps inhabits the waterline and is capable of simultaneous above and below water vision. Light from above or below the waterline enters the eye through uniquely duplicated set of corneas, and traverses a single pear-shaped lens, to finally reach the retina. The simultaneous aerial and aquatic sensory information is relayed to still-uncertain retinorecipient areas in the brain. My lab seeks to uncover the genetic and developmental mechanisms behind this evolutionary innovation, offering insights into the evolution of vision and the brain areas processing visual information using the zebrafish and the four eyed fish as model systems.