EVO-GENOMICS LAB

Lecturer of Evolutionary Genomics
Deparment of Biological Sciences
Macquarie University
Email: oliver.griffith@mq.edu.au
My research uses wildlife models to address critical questions in ecology and evolution. Most notably, I aim to address how mutation and selection support the evolution of complex traits in animals such as the evolution of new organs. To achieve this, my research integrates genomics, developmental biology, ecology, and ecophysiology using terrestrial vertebrates. My current projects use genetic, genomic, and cell biology techniques to identify how complex components of pregnancy have evolved. This includes the evolution of placental nutrient transfer, maternal – fetal signalling, and the beneficial aspects of inflammation during pregnancy.
Teaching
2021 Subject Convenor BIOL3120 Human Genetics and Evolutionary Medicine
Macquarie University
2020 Subject convenor BIOL1110 Genes to Organisms
Macquarie University
2019 Lecturer BIOL30001 Reproductive Physiology – University of
Melbourne (2 lectures, Placentation and Parturition)
2019 Lecturer Zool20006 Comparative Animal Physiology –
University of Melbourne (3 lectures on thermal ecology)
2018 Comparative Animal Physiology - University of Melbourne
- Ecophysiology and Temperature (4 lectures)
2018 Evolution: Making Sense of Life - University of Melbourne
(1 lecture)
2017 Comparative Anatomy - Yale University
2016 Functional Genomics Evolution - Yale University
Awards and Honours
2016 Jabez King Heydon Memorial Prize, (Awarded to most
meritorious PhD in the previous twelve months from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney).
2014 Short Listed for the Hamilton Prize, Evolution 2014, Raleigh,
North Carolina.
2013 Finalist Post-Graduate Excellence Prize, School of
Biological Science, University of Sydney.
2012 Herpetologists League Graduate Research Prize, third
place (Oral presentation) at the 7th World Congress of Herpetology, Vancouver.
2011 Australian Society of Herpetologists Murray Little John
Award.
Grants
2020-24 Discover Project Grant, Australian Research Council,
$760 000
2018-21 Discovery Early Career Research Award, Australian
Research Council, $365 083 (AUD) The evolution of a new organ: Does spurious maternal-fetal signalling support the evolution of a placenta?
2018-21 University of Melbourne Establishment Grant, University of
Melbourne $50 000 (AUD)
2018-20 McKenzie Fellowship, University of Melbourne $ 262 270
(AUD). I withdrew from this fellowship because I was awarded the DECRA
2017-20 University of Otago, Health Sciences Postdoctoral
Fellowship $228 688 (NZD). I withdrew from this fellowship because I was awarded the DECRA
2015-17 Gaylord Donnelley Environmental Postdoctoral Fellowship,
Yale University $104 000 (USD)
2017 SMBE Registration Reimbursement Award
2016 SMBE Registration Reimbursement Award
2014 University of Sydney Graduates Union of North America
Alumni Scholarship
2014 University of Sydney Postgraduate Research Support
Scheme
2014 Australian Society of Herpetologists’ student research grant
Genomic imprinting in a reptilian model
2014 EMBL Australia Symposium Grant
2012 University of Sydney Postgraduate Research Support
Scheme
2012-15 University of Sydney Thompson Lab top up Scholarship
2012-15 Australian Post Graduate Award
2011 Australian Society of Herpetologists Travel Grant
Invited seminars
2017 “Understanding implantation and implantation failure: an
evolutionary perspective”, Special seminar – Centre for Prevention of Preterm Birth, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio
2017 “Evolution of the placenta: a tale of the first contact between
mother and baby", Brooklyn College Biology seminar series, City University of New York. Brooklyn, New York.
2017 “Using marsupials to understand the origin of implantation in
live bearing mammals”, Yale Evolution and Development Symposium, Yale, West Haven, Connecticut
2017 “Immune regulation is a key innovation of eutherian mammal
pregnancy” Nano Biology Spring Seminar Series, Yale, West Haven, Connecticut
2017 “Maternal-fetal signalling and the evolution of a placenta in
reptiles and mammals” Trinity College Biology Spring Seminar Series, Hartford, Connecticut
2016 “A molecular and ecophysiology approach to understanding
the evolution of pregnancy in reptiles and mammals” – East Tennessee State University Biology’s Autumn seminar series
2016 “Innovations of pregnancy; the molecular and ecological
consequences of pregnancy in reptiles and mammals” – Yale Institute for Biospheric studies’ Autumn seminar
series
2014 “Parent offspring conflict and the evolution of placentae in
reptiles”, University of New South Wales – Phenotypic Variation and Evolution symposium (2014)
2014 “Complex innovations, parent offspring conflict and the
evolution of the placenta”, Yale University - Yale University West Campus Systems Biology Seminar (2014)