Tom Booker principal investigator (email: thomas.booker [at] ubc [dot] ca).

Tom is an assistant professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC. His research uses population genomics and evolutionary biology to study adaptation. He did his postdoctoral research with Mike Whitlock (UBC) and Sam Yeaman (U. Calgary). Tom got his PhD from the University of Edinburgh, working with Peter Keightley and Brian Charlesworth. He did the MSc in Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analsis at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Deborah Charlesworth. He did an undergraduate degree in Ecology at the University of Stirling.


Abi Brown MSc Student.

Abi Brown is an MSc student working on identifying environmental and ecological drivers of local adaptation in forest trees through analysis of provenance trial data. Abi previously graduated from the BSc in Conservation program in Forestry at UBC. Aside from being a huge plant nerd, they are also passionate about birding, fibre arts, and painting :)


Chaebin Lee PhD Student.

Chaebin is a PhD student using population genomics to study the evolution of local adaptation in forest trees, particularly in the context of population range expansion. Her research interests broadly span plant molecular evolution and conservation genetics, driven by the goal of finding solutions to the global challenges facing trees through the lens of evolutionary biology and conservation programs. Before joining the Booker Lab, she earned her BSc and MSc in Forest Environment Science at Seoul National University under the supervision of Kyu-Suk Kang. Chaebin has also gained research experience at the National Institute of Forest Science in Korea and was engaged with UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) program in France, contributing to biodiversity projects.


Meg Smith MSc Student.

I’m a MSc student in the Booker lab. My project is to assemble a reference genome for the interior variety of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca). The goal of this work is to compare the genomes of the interior and coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii), for which there is already a reference genome, and identify structural variants that may be linked to local adapted differences. More broadly, this project seeks to increase our understanding of how structural variants may influence patterns of intraspecific diversity in conifers and further the use of genomic technologies in forest management.

I am from Halifax, NS and completed my BSc (Hons) at Dalhousie University (class of 2024). In my spare time, I enjoy nature photography, hiking, reading, writing, and anything crafty (knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, you name it). I love coffee, pasta, and my two pets, Alice and Riley (see pets page for photos)!

Alumni

Tianlin Duan Postdoc.

Tianlin is a postdoctoral researcher using population genomic simulations to study the genomic footprints that the evolution of local adaptation leaves behind. Before coming to UBC, Tianlin did her PhD at the University of Uppsala with Martin Lascoux. She loved it so much she decided to go back for another postdoc!