Christina L Richards

Christina L Richards, Ph.D.

  • Positions:
    Assistant Professor

    Department of Integrative Biology

    University of South Florida (Tampa, FL)

    Research Affiliate

    Center for Genomics and Systems Biology

    Biology

    New York University (New York, NY)

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  • Degrees:
     
    Ph.D., Botany, University of Georgia (Athens, GA)
     
    B.A., Biology, Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
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  • Past Advisors:
     
    Michael D Purugganan (as Post Doctoral Fellow)
     
    Massimo Pigliucci (as Post Doctoral Fellow)
     
    Rodney Mauricio (as Graduate Student - Ph.D.)
     
    Lisa A Donovan (as Graduate Student - Ph.D.)
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  • Research:
    To understand the full significance of genetic and epigenetic processes, I use genomics and systems biology, as well as classic ecological genetics, to investigate response to natural environments.

    Studies on genotype by environment interactions illustrate that the rapidly escalating amount of genomic data and tools applied to model systems in controlled conditions must be tried in more biologically relevant conditions and in a broader array of wild organisms. Incorporating genomics and systems biology into robust experimental design and statistical analysis on model and non-model organisms will be a critical component of fleshing out the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Also, several epigenetic mechanisms have dramatic effects on phenotype, even in the absence of changes in genotype, and environmentally induced epigenetic changes may be inherited by future generations. Investigating epigenetic effects in our experimental studies could significantly improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying natural phenotypic variation and the translation from genotype and epigenotype to phenotype. My research has always integrated several disciplines because I'm interested in how plants respond to natural selection in stressful or novel environments.

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  • Other Experience:

    2008-present Canadian Henley Gold Medal in the Lightweight Women's Quad

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  • Honors:

    2009 Lead co-organizer, “What role, if any, does heritable epigenetic variation play in phenotypic evolution?” National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) catalysis meeting

    2009 Invited participant, “Phenotypic plasticity in the age of the ‘omics.” ARC/NZ Research Network for Vegetation Function working group. Australian National University

    2008 "Epigenetics for ecologists (Ecology Letters 11:106-115)" Recommended to Faculty of 1000

    2001-2004 Graduate Research Fellow, Sapelo Island NERR (NOAA)

Life Sciences
Communities:

Christina Richards's Genealogy

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Christina Richards's Publications (17)



Christina Richards's Posters and Presentations (7)

  • Rapid evolution in novel and changing environments. (presentation)

    Christina L Richards

    Australian National University Canberra, ACT, Australia, http://www.vegfunction.net/activity/RC14_phentoypic_plasticity.htm; 04/2009
  • Ecological genomics in novel and changing environments. (presentation)

    Christina L Richards

    University of Southern Florida, Departmental seminar; 02/2009
    Attachment: USF_final.pdf
  • Natural variation in flowering gene networks of Arabidopsis thaliana. (poster)

    Christina L Richards, Yoshie Hanzawa, Manpreet Katari, Gloria M. Coruzzi, Rodrigo A. Gutierrez, Michael D. Purugganan

    Ecological Genomics: The Genetic Basis of Plant Adaptation, University of Massachusetts Amherst Annual Symposium in Plant Biology; 10/2008
    Attachment: richards_umass.pdf
  • Sources of phenotypic diversity in invasive Fallopia. (presentation)

    Christina L Richards

    New York Botanical Gardens, Invited Plant Genomics seminar; 10/2008
    Attachment: nybg.pdf
  • Epigenetics for ecologists using model and non-model systems. (presentation)

    Christina L Richards

    Stony Brook University, Invited departmental seminar; 04/2008
    Attachment: epig_for_ecol.pdf
  • Genetic and epigenetic components of Fallopia invasion of novel salt marsh habitat. (presentation)

    Christina L Richards and Massimo Pigliucci

    ERF 2007 annual meeting, National Conference; 11/2007
    Attachment: erf_2007.pdf
  • Epigenetic variation and its implications for evolutionary ecology. (presentation)

    Christina L Richards, Oliver Bossdorf, Massimo Pigliucci

    Society for the Study of Evolution, National Conference; 06/2006

One Figure

One Figure for Christina L Richards

K means clustering of 963 differently expressed genes across 2 developmental points (4 leaf and bolting) in Bay and Shah.


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