Jack Da Silva

Dr. Jack Da Silva is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide, within the Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology. His primary affiliation is with the Molecular and Biomedical Science department. He has been active in academic roles since at least 2008, with his staff directory entry last updated in January 2023.

His research focuses on evolutionary genetics, specifically the evolution of body size, sexes (anisogamy), aging (senescence), and altruism (eusociality). He employs phylogenetic comparative analyses and computer simulations to explore these topics. Current projects include studying life history optimization in mammals, cancer suppression in ancient dog breeds, and the role of monogamy in bee eusociality. He has co-supervised PhD students including Mr. Dong Wang (2009–2013) and Dr. Zhipeng Qu (2008–2013).

His publications span evolutionary biology, genetics, and virology, with recent works addressing topics like eusociality in Hymenoptera, canine aging, and HIV evolutionary dynamics. He maintains an office at the Molecular Life Sciences building on the North Terrace campus.