Pooja Singh, Dr. rer. nat.
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Switzerland
I am an evolutionary biologist from Botswana. My curiosity for nature began at a young age while exploring the wildernesses of the Kalahari desert and the Okavango Delta with my dad. This led me to pursue a BSc in genetics at the University of Cape Town that is located in the Cape Floristic Region, a beautiful biodiversity hotspot. And later a MSc in bioinformatics at the University of Pretoria during the omics revolution. I spent a lot of time during my MSc thinking about evolutionary concepts and ecological speciation, which led to a PhD on the ecology and evolution of trophic and mating behaviours of cichlid fishes from the East African Great Lakes. I am currently a senior researcher at the University of Bern and EAWAG working on how Lake Victoria cichlid fishes rapidly evolved diversity in feeding ecology and assortative mating. My interests span various aspects of adaptive evolution, ecology, and the underlying genetic mechanisms, particularly at short timescales. My goal is to gain a better understanding of the incredible biodiversity in Africa, contribute to its long term conservation and empower local early career scientists.
I am currently seeking tenure-track positions. |