Courtney Babbitt

Research Interests: 

Evolutionary Genomics

My research is in evolutionary genomics and I am interested in changes in gene regulation over evolutionary time that impact phenotypic change. In particular, I investigate the evolution of cis-regulatory elements, the evolution of gene expression, and noncoding RNA at a genome-wide scale. I am also interested in functionally testing specific rapidly evolving cis-regulatory regions. My current research addresses these essential questions in evolutionary biology as they relate to genetic and phenotypic differences between humans and non-human primates. I integrate both computational and experimental approaches to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the functional changes involved in regulatory evolution and how they contribute to phenotypic evolution.