CHRISTINE SYROWATKA

I am driven by fundamental questions such as ”how do genetic and environmental variation translate into phenotypic variation?” and ”what mechanisms underlie the emergence of evolutionary novelties and innovations?”. These queries serve as the cornerstone of my scientific curiosity. My research spans various subdisciplines, encompassing population genetics, quantitative genetics, EvoDevo, geometric morphometrics, mathematical modeling, multivariate statistics, numerical computations, and medical genomics. I find myself equally at ease in drawing inspiration and techniques from each of these domains. Recently, a significant portion of my work has been focused on constructing statistical models and developing the computational tools necessary to apply these models to extensive human medical record datasets. The overarching aim is to advance our understanding of how both our genetics and lifestyles contribute to our susceptibility to disease, and to uncover the intricate interplay between genetic variation and environmental influences on health outcomes. Within this context, I harbor specific interests in exploring questions surrounding epistasis, pleiotropy, canalization, and evolvability.