A bit about my work. I am currently funded by the Academy of Finland as an independent Academy Research Fellow. This grant provides me with 5 years of salary, research money, and a postdoctoral researcher.  I have also recently accepted a position at the University of Exeter in the UK and plan to move there in approximately two years once a new Biology building is completed.

The goal of this grant is to develop a mechanistic understanding of the observed correlation between Pgi genetic variation and fitness effects in the wild. I am tackling this question at three separate levels: a biochemical analysis of PGI enzyme performance, an analysis of the metabolic context of PGI, and an investigation into the patterns of variation along the chromosome near Pgi.

I am working with the Glanville fritillary, which is the focus of ecological and genetic research in the Metapopulation Research Group lead by Ilkka Hanski. Ilkka has focused on metapopulation dynamics via mathematical modeling and long term study of a single, large metapopulation of butterflies on an island archipelago between Sweden and Finland. You can read more about his work on metapopulations at the Metapopulation Research Group's website.

Please click on any of the three tabs above for more information regarding my recent projects or find specific research projects, publications, or information about my students from the menu on top.

Christopher Wheat, PhD