Welcome to my website!
I am now based at the University of Cyprus, please check my lab website here 


​I am a molecular ecologist with a strong interest in the diversity of island biota. My research combines microevolutionary approaches (phylogeography and population genetics) with a macroecological perspective to study the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity in island systems. Additionally, I apply DNA-based methodologies for species delimitation, biodiversity assessment and community ecology. Currently I am taking advantage of the enormous potential offered by High-throughput Sequencing technologies and I use genome-wide data to enhance all aspects of my research. My favourite system is the Aegean archipelago in the Eastern Mediterranean, but I have also worked on a range of other islands and island-like systems through collaborations (e.g., Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, New Caledonia, dry tropical forest fragments in Nicaragua, alpine ecosystems on the Alps and the Pyrenees). ​Since I joined the University of Cyprus in September 2017, my first priority has been to develop local capacity in biodiversity genomics and apply genomic approaches to improve our knowledge on the biodiversity of Cyprus. 

Twinning for European excellence in Island Biodiversity Genomics

iBioGen is an EU-funded (Horizon 2020) project, focused on island biodiversity genomics. ​This international initiative aims to unify protocols and applied methodologies across island systems, to improve coordination and collaboration among empirical and theoretical biologists, to bridge ecological and evolutionary perspectives to island biodiversity and to establish an EU island network of Genomic Observatories. Furthermore, the iBioGen consortium aims to stimulate research excellence in an island country (Cyprus), and promote it as a model system for integrating biodiversity genomics with conservation practice.

other recent projects

 Comparative phylogeography of darkling beetles in the Aegean

Since my Phd, I have been using comparative phylogeography to understand the historical and ecological factors driving population divergence and diversification​ of darkling beetles across the central Aegean islands. See  some representative publications: [1] [2] [3] [4].  I am now expanding my previous work in collaboration with Prof. Alfried Vogler (Imperial College, UK), Dr. Ioannis Anastasiou (University of Athens, Greece) and Dr. Joaquín Ortego (EBD-CSIC, Spain) using genomic data.

Studying trophic interactions in the dry tropical forest of Nicaragua

I have been lucky to participate in a beautiful research team led by Dr. Jesús Gómez-Zurita (IBE-CSIC, Barcelona) to study the diversity of trophic interactions between herbivore beetles and their host plants in the dry tropical forest fragments of Nicaragua. See the website of the project for more details and some relevant publications: [1] [2] [3]


​Studying the effect of Quaternary sea-level changes in island diversification

​
In collaboration with Prof. L. Lacey Knowles (University of Michigan, USA) we combine micro- and macroevolutionary approaches to study the effects of Quaternary sea-level changes on the diversification of island endemics. We focus on flightless ground crickets species of the genus Amphiacusta from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. See a relevant publication here.
​​

Climate-driven diversification of alpine grasshoppers across the Pyrenees

In collaboration with Dr. Joaquín Ortego (EBD-CSIC, Sevilla) and our PhD student Vanina Tonzo we are studying the drivers and timing of diversification of alpine grasshoppers distributed across the Pyrenees. We combine demographic inference based on genome-wide SNP data, with ecological niche modeling and morphometrics.