Matthew Barbour

Matthew Barbour serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Sherbrooke, where his research bridges ecological and evolutionary scales from genetic diversity to species communities. His work addresses critical challenges in biodiversity conservation amid planetary change.

His educational background includes:

• M.Sc. in Ecology from San Diego State University (2011)
• Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of British Columbia (2016)
• Postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich (2022)

Dr. Barbour specializes in ecosystem resilience and complex species interactions, with core expertise in ecological networks, genomics, and plant-insect dynamics. His laboratory integrates genomic tools, indirect effects theory, and experimental field studies to predict cascading impacts of environmental change. Current projects focus on gene-to-community effects using Arabidopsis thaliana model systems and hyperdiverse networks of the spruce budworm—the most destructive forest defoliator in Canada—which spans 124 species across five trophic levels.

His research directly addresses urgent global priorities including the United Nations' genetic diversity conservation targets and ethical implications of gene-editing technologies. The laboratory's innovative approach combines controlled experiments with real-world forest ecosystem studies to develop predictive frameworks for biodiversity persistence under accelerating environmental change.