Dr Guillermo Friis

I am an evolutionary biologist interested in the origin and maintenance of biodiversity, inferring evolutionary mechanisms of diversification, and understanding the genomic basis of phenotypic variation. 

My PhD at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid (Spain) documented neutral and selective mechanisms driving genetic and phenotypic divergence at the early stages of speciation in the radiation of the songbird genus Junco.

During my postdoc in New York University Abu Dhabi, my research focused on the evolutionary processes leading to the colonization and adaptation of the gray mangrove (Avicennia marina) to the extreme environment of the Arabian Peninsula using resequenced and transcriptomic data.

At Kew, my work aims to evaluate genetic bottlenecks in planted and naturally colonized young woodlands of oak (Quercus robur) and birch (Betula pendula) of the UK using whole genome sequencing data, and to study their potential impact in resilience to pests, diseases and environmental change.

• BS in Environmental Sciences, Pablo de Olavide University, 2012
• MS in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Pablo de Olavide University, 2012
• Doctorate in Evolutionary Biology, National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) and Madrid Autonomous University, 2018