Urban Friberg Assistant Professor

Research in our group can broadly be defined as evolutionary genetics, with an emphasis on genetic conflicts. We have previously addressed questions in several topics in this field, such as reproductive conflicts between the sexes, mitochondrial genetic variation, genetic conflict over recombination, the genetic architecture of fitness, sexual dimorphism in aging and lifespan, and genetic conflicts between the sex chromosomes. Most of these studies have been conducted using either the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) or a seed beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus) and some have been theoretical.

Currently we are primarily focusing on sex-specific variation in various life-history traits, with a special emphasis on longevity and aging, using the D. melanogaster model system. These studies combine classic Drosophila genetics with modern systems biology approaches. The overall goal with these studies is to provide us with a better understanding of how and why the sexes differ with respect to longevity and rate of aging and how the genes that contribute to these phenotypes are distributed over the genome.

Please contact us if you are interested in these questions and would like to join us as a master student, PhD student or post doc.

Current lab members

Rebecca Dean (Post doc) Ageing; Quantitative Genomics
Jaime Grace (Post doc) Epigenetics
Robert Griffin (PhD-student) Sexual dimorphism in ageing
Cindy Canton (Research technician)
Marios Thoma (Master student)
Damien Le Gall (Master student)

Past lab members

Preeti Menon (Research training)
Balaje Vijayaraghavan (Research training)
Ilona Flis (Research technician)
Henrik Lysell (Research technician)
Marcus Nyberg (Project student)
Élise Biquand (Project student)

Current and past collaborators

Goran Arnqvist, Uppsala University, Sweden
Richard Bailey, Uppsala University, Sweden
Trine Bilde, Aarhus University, Denmark
Damian Dowling, Monash University, Australia
Sergey Gavrilets, University of Tennessee, USA
Frank Hailer, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, USA
Johan Lindell, Uppsala University, Sweden
Alexei Maklakov, Uppsala University, Sweden
Paige Miller, University of California Santa Barbara, USA
Ted Morrow, Uppsala University, Sweden
Anna Qvarnström, Uppsala University, Sweden
Bill Rice, University of California Santa Barbara, USA
Patrik Rydén, Umeå University, Sweden
Holger Schielzeth, Bielefeld University
Andrew Stewart, University of California Santa Barbara, USA