معرفی
James Lewis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry at Clemson University's College of Science. He leads the Evolutionary Genomics of Adaptation and Diversification Lab, where he investigates molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution using lepidopteran models. His research integrates functional genomics, CRISPR, and computational approaches to study genotype-phenotype mapping.
Education:
- Ph.D., Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University (2017)
- M.A., Philosophy, Virginia Tech (2010)
Research Focus: Dr. Lewis investigates how complex traits evolve through regulatory changes, with emphasis on butterfly wing pattern mimicry. His work bridges population genetics, molecular evolution, and developmental biology to uncover mechanisms of adaptation and diversification in hybrid zones.
Publication Trends: Recent articles (2019-2023) focus on evolutionary genomics of adaptive traits, regulatory architecture, sex chromosome evolution, and butterfly mimicry systems, with frequent publications in high-impact journals like Science, Nature Genetics, and PNAS.
Awards & Fellowships:
- NSF CAREER Grant (2024-2029)
- NIH Postdoctoral Training Fellowships (T32 programs)
- Kieckhefer Adirondack Fellowship
- Cornell Comparative Population Genomics Fellowship
Advising & Grants: Currently mentors 2 PhD and 1 MS students. Secured $1.3M NSF CAREER grant for butterfly mimicry research and $50K NIH grant for stress-response genomics. Previously mentored postdocs and undergraduates in genomics projects.
Lab: Leads an active research group recruiting PhD students and postdocs, with recent work on heliconiine butterfly evolution and CRISPR-based trait mapping.
