Pooja Singh, Dr. rer. nat.
Funded by Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Switzerland and Swiss National Science Fund (SNSF)
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Switzerland
Surrounded by Lodgepole pine in Yoho National Park, Canada
Me holding a Pundamilia nyererei male, Haplochromine cichlid from Kissenda Island, Lake Victoria
Fieldwork, Lake Victoria, 2022
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I am an evolutionary biologist and ecologist from Botswana. My curiosity for nature began at a young age while exploring the wildernesses of the Kalahari desert & 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, which led to a PhD in Austria on the ecology and adaptive evolution of cichlid fishes from the East African Great Lakes.
Over the years, my approach has evolved to become interdisciplinary, integrating genetics, morphology, and ecology. I am currently a senior researcher at the EAWAG and University of Bern working on cichlid adaptive radiations in Lake Victoria and whitefishes in the Swiss lakes. I am also independently developing the adaptive radiation of (hexaploid!) Labeobarbus fishes in Lake Tana, Ethiopia as a study system with funding from the SNSF and Leading House Africa. My research interests span various aspects of evolution, particularly at short timescales. I am currently seeking tenure-track positions.
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Fieldwork, Amranda point, Lake Victoria.
