Christina Richards

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Biography

Dr. Richards is an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Biology. Her research incorporates genomic tools and approaches into ecological experiments to better understand how organisms respond to ecological and evolutionary challenges including anthropogenic global change. The Richards Lab is currently working on projects that explore the genomics and epigenomics of native coastal plant species as well as plant invasions with the globally invasive Japanese knotweeds (Reynoutria) and Spartina alterniflora. Further, Dr. Richards works in collaboration with faculty at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute to use ecological and evolutionary theory to understand the dynamics of a variety of human cancers.

Research Interests

• TEACHING I teach Evolution which is an exciting field that is constantly changing and informs everything we do in the study of biology. I also teach the Biology of Coastal Plants which provides an opportunity to highlight some interesting adaptations to challenging environments and response to climate change. RESEARCH We use genomics and epigenetics approaches in robust ecological experiments to understand how organisms respond to environment. We have projects in US, Europe, China and Australia, and members of the Richards lab have lived in Australia supported by the Australian Research Council, France on Fulbright and Chateaubriand Fellowships, and Germany supported by the Make Our Planet Great Again – German Research Initiative. The Richards Lab is currently working on projects that explore the genomics and epigenomics of native coastal plant species as well as plant invasions with the globally invasive Japanese knotweeds (Reynoutria) and Spartina alterniflora.