Comparative Genomics

The main research interest of our group is to understand the complex relationships between genome sequences and phenotypes and how these two features evolve across species. We generally use large-scale phylogenetics approaches that allow looking at the evolution of genomes from the perspective of all of their genes, and we apply these analyses to a variety of biological questions related the evolution and function of organelles, pathways, and protein families. We have a special interest in understanding processes related to human pathogenesis (emergence of infectious disease, and organelle-related genetic diseases).

Through collaborations with experimental groups we apply comparative genomics to discover new mechanisms and genes involved in interesting processes, especially those of clinical relevance (see lines of research). Given that we work in an emerging field and we are exposed to new types and scales of data, we often have the need to develop novel bioinformatics tools to fill in existing gaps.