Mark Harrison

Mark Harrison is an Associate Professor in Bioinformatics at Coventry University's Centre for Health and Life Sciences. Previously, he held roles as an assistant and PI in the Molecular Evolution & Bioinformatics Group at the University of Münster (2019–2024) and was a Post-doc there (2016–2019). He earned a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Leicester (2017), an MSc in Biology from Ruhr University Bochum (2012), and a BSc in Biology from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (2010).

His research focuses on genomic signatures of extreme longevity in eusocial animals like ants, honeybees, and termites. He employs comparative genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenomics to uncover anti-aging mechanisms and pathways linked to longevity/fecundity trade-offs. Key areas include proteostasis, DNA repair, mitochondrial activity, and nutrient sensing.

Current supervision includes two PhD students at the University of Münster: Alina Mikhailova (genomic evolution of eusociality in termites) and Sarah Rinke (genomic evolution of sub- and eusociality in beetles/weevils). Collaborations span global institutions, with recent work published in Nature Communications and Ecology and Evolution.

His research network includes studies on termite classification, immune memory in copepods, and comparative genomics across insects. Outputs highlight contributions to evolutionary genomics, with 447 citations and an h-index of 9 as of 2024.