•Biological Systematics is the study of the diversity of life. Research avenues may include documenting, inventorying, and naming species; inferring and reconstructing relationships among species; and investigating and discovering evolutionary processes such as those involved in the formation of new species, processes that generate, maintain, or erode morphological and genetic diversity, or processes and events that lead to species extinction.
•The systematics group at Brigham Young University includes faculty from the Department of Integrative Biology, post doctoral associates, graduate (PhD & MS) students, and undergraduate students. Research interests and expertise are both diverse and shared within our group. Additional faculty in our department, and in other departments, are also involved in systematic research to varying degrees and collaborative ties exist in many directions.
Information for Students
•Prospective graduate students are encouraged to write/contact potential faculty advisors before the application process. Applications for admittance to Integrative Biology graduate programs are due by January 31st each year, regardless of whether students are seeking Fall (September) or Winter (January of the following year) enrollment.
•Research opportunities for undergraduate students are often available, but needs and accommodations vary continuously. Contact the faculty member you are interested in working with about possible research opportunities.
•The National Science Foundation and Integrative Biology Department are supporting Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Systematics and Bioinformatics. This program is scheduled to run 10 weeks each summer and is open to undergraduate students that are US citizens from throughout the United States. For more information, visit the REU website.
Facilities
•Research laboratories are well equipped to gather and analyze both molecular and morphological data. These laboratories are often shared by faculty, providing a rich, interacitve research environment.
•The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum houses significant plant and animal research collections.
•The DNA Sequencing Center is equipped with high-throughput, state-of-the-art equipment and dedicated full-time and student technicians.
•Substantial, state-of-the-art computing resources including parallel processing software for phylogenetic analyses developed by some of the systematic group faculty in collaboration with faculty in other deparments.
•The Lytle Preserve, located in southwestern Utah, encompasses 720 hectares of Mohave desert, riparian, and aquatic habitats. Field work extends beyond the Great Basin, however, with various projects located in virtually all corners of the earth.
Faculty
Keith Crandall [Lab] -Phylogenetic theory, crustacean systematics, conservation biology, biogeography, molecular evolution, evolution of infectious diseases.
Leigh Johnson [Lab] -Plant systematics, morphological & molecular evolution, biodiverstiy & bioinventory.
David McClellan [Lab] -Molecular adaptation, bioinformatics, proteomics, evolutionary genetics, software development, molecular evolution of cytochrome b.
Duke Rogers [Lab] -Mammalogy, phylogenetic systematics, molecular ecology, phylogeography, biodiversity & bioinventory.
Jack Sites Jr. [Lab] -Herpetology, hybrid zone dynamics, chromosome evolution & speciation potential, phylogenetic systematics, conservation genetics, biodiversity & bioinventory.
Michael Whiting [Lab] -Insect phylogenomics & evolution.
