Paul Schmidt

Paul Schmidt is the Patricia M. Williams Term Professor of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences, currently serving as Undergraduate Chair (on sabbatical 2024-2025). His research focuses on ecological and evolutionary genetics, examining how populations adapt to environmental heterogeneity. The Schmidt Lab uses Drosophila melanogaster as a model system to study mechanisms of natural selection, allelic variation, and fitness in diverse environments. Key areas include genomic adaptation, microbiome interactions, and phenotypic plasticity.

Education: Ph.D. in Biology from Brown University (1999). Courses taught include BIOL 2410 (Evolutionary Biology) and BIOL 3851 (Biology and Society). His work combines field studies, molecular genetics, and genomic analyses to link genetic variation to ecological fitness. Recent research highlights include adaptive tracking in Drosophila populations and the role of microbiome composition in rapid genomic adaptation.

Lab activities emphasize interdisciplinary approaches, integrating classical genetics with modern '-omics' technologies. Current projects investigate life history differentiation, seasonal adaptation, and the functional significance of genetic polymorphisms. The lab webpage provides detailed information on ongoing research and publications.