Profile of the supervisor
Sander van Doorn studied Biology at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) and is currently an Associate Professor at the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences. His work in evolutionary systems biology has a clear interdisciplinary profile, connecting questions, ideas, and concepts from evolutionary biology, systems biology, (microbial) ecology, and complex systems theory. Key research interests include the evolution of biological diversity by adaptive mechanisms; sexual conflict, mate choice and other interactions between the sexes in higher organisms; and adaptation in biological systems with interacting levels of organization, such as biomolecular networks in the cell, or microbial communities.
Expertise
Biological modelling and model analysis, using analytical and simulation approaches; evolutionary quantitative genetics, game theory and adaptive dynamics; dynamical and complex systems analysis.
Profile of the research group
Van Doorn collaborates closely with other theoreticians in the context of research and education, and supervises a team of MSc and PhD students, which is embedded in a larger expertise group in theoretical biology. Current members of his team work on models of adaptive diversification, cultural evolution, horizontal gene transfer, and microbial community ecology and evolution, using mainly theoretical approaches, sometimes in combination with empirical work elsewhere. Recent lab collaborations extend also to other disciplines, including computer science (for work on temporal networks) and social & behavioral sciences (for a project on alternative stable states in psychological treatment trajectories). Despite their broad range of biological research topics, members of the team maintain and profit from a joint interest in the evolution of complex systems and shared frameworks for evolutionary modelling and theoretical analysis.
