Joel Sharbrough

Biography

I am an evolutionary biologist interested in the (co)evolution of genomes and their emergent cellular and organismal phenotypes, especially in the context of eukaryotic energy production. I am originally from Lake Tahoe, CA, but moved to the Midwest to attend the University of Notre Dame for my undergraduate degree. Next, I moved to Iowa City, IA for graduate school at the University of Iowa, where I was mentored by Dr. Maurine Neiman while studying the evolutionary maintenance of sexual reproduction. After graduate school, I moved to Fort Collins to work as a postdoc with Dr. Dan Sloan. There, I studied cytonuclear interactions of allopolyploids. I was an Assistant Professor of Biology at New Mexico Tech form 2020-2024, after which I moved my lab to the EEMB Department at UCSB. My lab investigates the genetic and evolutionary forces that affect mitochondrial and chloroplast function in both plants and animals. I am an avid outdoorsman, and especially enjoy convincing my family to hike just a little bit farther.

Research

Research Interests: Evolutionary genomics, polyploidy, mitochondria, chloroplasts, respiration, photosynthesis