For my doctoral work, I focused primarily on phylogenomics, specifically the inference of evolutionary relationships among species using genome-scale markers. I worked on ultraconserved elements (UCEs), using available genomes to investigate potential function/s of UCEs, and analyzed how UCE loci inform phylogeny. I applied UCEs to elucidate the evolutionary transition/s between nocturnality and diurnality in the superorder Strisores, a clade including both the nocturnal nightbirds and diurnal swifts and hummingbirds.
As a postdoc, I was located in the Retinal Development, Genetics and Therapy section of the Neurobiology Neurodegeneration and Repair Laboratory within the National Eye Institute. There, I used an evolutionary perspective to understand the diversity of visual types, including nocturnal vs. diurnal vision and foveated vs. afoveated vision. I also worked towards elucidating the evolution of rod photoreceptor cells, using an unprecedentedly large (103 species) pan-vertebrate data set of retinal transcriptomes. Lastly, I developed histological/microscopy methods to efficiently identify foveae across avian species, using this as a tool in my effort to characterize vertebrate foveal development.
I started a Staff Scientist position in the Biological Imaging Core of the National Eye Institute in March 2022. Shortly thereafter, this post came out about my work on the NIH "I Am Intramural" blog. It summarizes the motivation and overall research goals of my work very nicely.
As a postdoc, I was located in the Retinal Development, Genetics and Therapy section of the Neurobiology Neurodegeneration and Repair Laboratory within the National Eye Institute. There, I used an evolutionary perspective to understand the diversity of visual types, including nocturnal vs. diurnal vision and foveated vs. afoveated vision. I also worked towards elucidating the evolution of rod photoreceptor cells, using an unprecedentedly large (103 species) pan-vertebrate data set of retinal transcriptomes. Lastly, I developed histological/microscopy methods to efficiently identify foveae across avian species, using this as a tool in my effort to characterize vertebrate foveal development.
I started a Staff Scientist position in the Biological Imaging Core of the National Eye Institute in March 2022. Shortly thereafter, this post came out about my work on the NIH "I Am Intramural" blog. It summarizes the motivation and overall research goals of my work very nicely.
Research Interests and Current Projects
Comparative Genomics of Vision
Using a diverse sampling covering the extant radiation of vertebrates, I am conducting a comparative analysis of the molecular basis of phototransduction by leveraging the wide diversity of visual function displayed in vertebrates. This work will help us understand the regulation of retinal function, as well as retinal cell development.
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© 2023 Noor D. White