Arnaud Gaigher
Post-Doc Researcher
My main research interest is to understand the genetic basis of the evolution of species and populations. After a Master at the University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC, Paris, France), where I investigated the level of genetic divergence between two closely related species of European lampreys, I continued on with a PhD at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). During my PhD I mainly studied genes of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), which are well known for their crucial role in pathogen resistance, as candidate markers to study the evolution of adaptive genetic diversity in barn owls. Since then I have been working on several topics in this area including (i) MHC genotyping, (ii) molecular evolution of MHC genes, (iii) the link between MHC diversity and individual fitness-related traits, (iv) the geographical pattern of MHC diversity, and (v) MHC-mediated sexual selection.
My current project in the MARCHANGE group aims to study the genetic diversity of MHC genes in several exploited elasmobranch species (sharks and rays) to reveal the geographic structure of populations in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean.
