معرفی
Saad Arif is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological and Medical Sciences at Oxford Brookes University. His work bridges evolutionary genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics, with a focus on understanding the genetic basis of phenotypic variation in natural populations, particularly in insects such as butterflies and Drosophila species.
His research interests include:
- Evolutionary and ecological genomics
- Host-symbiont interactions (e.g., Wolbachia in butterflies)
- Conservation genomics of declining species
- Developmental evolution (Evo-Devo)
- Population genetics and phylogeography
Dr. Arif leads key teaching modules such as Data Carpentry and Interrogating Genomes, which equip students with bioinformatics and computational skills. He also teaches statistics and R programming across undergraduate and postgraduate programs, including the BBSRC DTP.
His recent publications reflect a strong trend in integrative genomics, combining high-throughput sequencing, evolutionary theory, and developmental biology to explore questions ranging from eye morphology evolution in Drosophila to genomic erosion in extinct butterfly populations. The works frequently involve comparative genomics, gene regulatory networks, and the role of endosymbionts in shaping host evolution.
Scientific awards and recognitions include:
- Alexander von Humboldt Post-doctoral Research Fellowship (2014)
- NERC-NBAF 2021 grant for Wolbachia-mediated feminization research
He actively supervises PhD students, currently including Rebecca Whitla, whose thesis focuses on the evolutionary and ecological genomics of British butterflies. He has been involved in funded research projects and collaborates widely, including with Prof. Tim Shreeve and Dr. Michael Gerth. Dr. Arif is affiliated with the Ecology and Evolution Centre and the Centre for Functional Genomics, and contributes to the Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics (EEGG) research group.
