Erik Clark

Erik Clark is a Research Fellow at the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge. He specializes in arthropod evolutionary developmental biology, focusing on the evolution of gene regulatory networks involved in insect body axis patterning. His work combines advanced microscopy, genetic perturbation techniques, and computational modeling to investigate segmentation mechanisms and developmental self-organization in arthropods.

• Department of Genetics
• Cambridge NERC Doctoral Landscape Awards (DLA) Supervisor

Research Focus:
We investigate the evolution and development of arthropods through:

• Multiplexed confocal imaging and bioimage analysis
• Genetic manipulation of developmental processes
• Computational simulations of gene networks
• Comparative studies across arthropod species

Our workhorse organism is Drosophila melanogaster, with additional research on Tribolium castaneum and plans to expand to other insect species. Key research questions address segmentation mechanisms, developmental robustness, and the temporal-spatial regulation of embryonic patterning.

Current research trends reveal consistent focus on segmentation dynamics (2016-2025), gene regulatory network analysis (2016-2022), and computational modeling of developmental systems (2016-2022). The work spans evolutionary developmental biology, with applications in understanding both long-germ and short-germ segmentation patterns.

Laboratory Activities:
The lab develops projects involving comparative developmental biology across arthropod species, including:

• Comparative embryonic patterning in fly species
• Beetle developmental heterochrony studies
• Lab evolution experiments with mutagenized Drosophila populations
• Computational modeling of gene network evolvability

Contact: ec491@cam.ac.uk