Inês Miranda

I’m a PhD student at the University of Porto, developing my research project at CIBIO-InBIO and in collaboration with the Centre for Paleogenetics (Sweden) and the University of Montana (USA). I joined CIBIO in 2015, to develop a one-year undergraduate internship project, which was when I got interested in Evolution and its unresolved questions.

I am broadly interested in understanding the evolutionary mechanisms underlying adaptation in natural populations, and their interplay with population history, genetics, and ecology. I work mainly with genomic data, using molecular methods and bioinformatic approaches applied to both historical and modern DNA. In addition, often engage in science dissemination and outreach activities in various contexts.

I have been focused on the study of seasonal coat colour change, a phenological trait that is crucial for species fitness but is being challenged by climate change. For my MSc thesis, I studied the genetic basis of winter colour variation in the least weasel (Mustela nivalis), using whole-genome data obtained from museum specimens. During my PhD, I will combine museum sampling with genomic approaches and ecological modelling to understand the origin and adaptive evolution of this trait and to quantify its potential for rapid adaptation to climate change.