Faculty Directory

Machado, Carlos

Machado, Carlos

Professor
Biology
College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences
Brain and Behavior Institute
2121 Bioscience Research Building
Website(s):

Work in our lab is centered on understanding the processes and mechanisms that have led to the evolution of new species and to the generation of genetic diversity in two study systems: species of the Drosophila pseudoobscura group, and the fig/fig-wasp mutualism. Common problems that we have been addressing in the two research systems are: What are the roles played by hybridization and introgression during the evolution of new species? What are the consequences of those processes on genetic variation at a genomic scale? Additional studies we are conducting with Drosophila are focused on using whole-genome expression arrays to identify genetic changes underlying phenotypic differences between closely related species, including genetic changes involved in regulatory hybrid dysfunction (gene expression changes affecting fertility or viability). Additional studies in the fig/fig-wasp mutualism are centered on understanding the causes and consequences of incongruent cophylogenetic patterns of divergence of closely related Neotropical figs and their pollinators, studying the geographical context of species diversification in the mutualism, and studying the population genetic consequences of evolution in subdivided populations. We use a combination of genomic, population genetic, and phylogenetic approaches to address all those questions. In addition to our main work on those two systems, we have returned to our previous work on the evolution of the human parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.

EDUCATION

1998-2002, Postdoctoral Researcher (Hey lab), Department of Genetics, Rutgers University

1994-1998, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowship

1993-1998, Ph.D. Evolutionary Genetics; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine (Ayala lab)

1992-1993, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Research Assistant Fellowships

1992, B.S. Biology, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia

NIH Awards $2M to UMD Entomologist Megan Fritz

Research into mosquitoes carrying West Nile will pinpoint the genes responsible for their attraction to humans.

Brain and Behavior Initiative (BBI) hosts Second Annual Seed Grant Symposium

The University’s Brain and Behavior Initiative (BBI) hosted its Second Annual Seed Grant Symposium on November 14, 2018 at Adele’s in the Stamp Student Union.

BBI Holds 2017 Seed Grant Symposium

Over 115 people attend symposium featuring work and accomplishments of BBI Seed Grant Awardees for FY16/FY17.

BBI FY17 Seed Grant Winners Announced

Nine projects selected for funding.