Department of Biology

Lab

Biology Bldg. 131C
Darragh Lab website

Research

The Darragh lab is interested in a variety of questions at the intersection between chemical ecology and evolutionary biology. What is the genetic basis of chemical traits such as floral scent or pheromones? How do biosynthetic pathways and enzymes evolve to produce the chemical diversity that we see in nature? What is the evolutionary importance of chemical signaling in plants and insects?

To answer these questions, we use an integrative and multidisciplinary approach combining tools and approaches from chemical ecology, genetics, molecular biology, and evolutionary biology. We work with a variety of both plant and insect systems, including Heliconius butterflies, bees, and Costus spiral ginger plants, and are open to working on new systems to study the evolution of chemical diversity.

Research areas

Ecology
Evolution
Genomics and Bioinformatics