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There has been a resurgence of interest in studying adaptive evolution in recent times, mostly driven by the desire to integrate genomics into long-standing knowledge of natural history and organismal biology. Motivated by this, my research has focused on integrating computational genomics and organismal biology to understand genetic basis of adaptive traits in vertebrates ranging from fish (Atlantic herring), reptiles (squamates) and birds (Darwin’s finches & ruff), both at micro and macro-evolutionary scales. My ongoing research explores topics such as convergent evolution of traits and adaptive radiation, role of structural variants in adaptive diversification, impact of interspecies gene flow on trait evolution and hybrid speciation. My work on the Darwin’s finches for instance, represents an example of how genomics can be effectively integrated with the long-term field studies on ecology and natural history to reveal unique insights into genetic basis of beak diversity in Darwin’s finches that has been one of the textbook example for variety of topics in evolutionary biology.
 
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Selected media coverage

National Audubon Society, Galapagos Finches Are Proving to Be the Poster Birds of Evolution Again
 
BBC News, Galapagos finches caught in act of becoming new species
 
Science Daily,  New species can develop in as little as two generations, Galapagos study finds
 
International Business Times, Darwin's Finch Caught In The Act Of Becoming New Species
 
The Washington Post, 200 years after Darwin, this is how the iconic Galapagos finches are still evolving
 
Nature News, Evolution of Darwin’s finches tracked at genetic level
 
The Washington Post, A ‘supergene’ turns these male birds into female impersonators or sneaky mate thieves — for life
 
National Geographic, DNA Reveals How Darwin's Finches Evolved
 
BBC News, Genomes reveal Darwin finches' messy family tree
 
Nature News, Darwin’s iconic finches join genome club
 
The American Scholar, Darwin’s Voyage Continues
 
Science Daily, The herring genome provides new insight on how species adapt to their environment