Xiao Du

Xiao Du

Ph.D Candidate, Marine Biology and Fisheries, Rosenstiel School Marine and Atmospheric Sciences


I am interested in investigating fish (Fundulus heteroclitus) population structure from the standpoint of genetics with cell culture techniques. When mentioning population structure, population geneticists tend to believe that, instead of a single, simple population, populations are subdivided in some way. If subdivided, populations could evolve apart, somewhat independently. In this sense, we can say that population structure allows populations to diversify. This to some degree explains why population structure plays a crucial role in evolutionary genetics.  Based on cell culture techniques, I would like to test variations within and between populations. Cell culture is the complex process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions. After plating hepatocytes in multiple wells, I try to measure technical variations, variation within and that between individuals, by isolating RNA and measuring the gene expression in replicates from multiple individuals. I also would like to measure metabolism rates of those replicates as another indicator to investigate their variations. I hope to take use of genotypes to explain the possible genetic variations between those individuals or populations.


Contact:  mfoleksiak@rsmas.miami.edu or 
              dcrawford@rsmas.miami.edu