Research profile

I am an evolutionary ecologist who defines herself primarily as a theoretician — but one who loves working with empiricists and also hopes to improve communication between these approaches. My research is based on understanding why evolution is far more multifaceted than a vague notion of fitness of organisms continually improving over time. Even a quick look at nature during a walk outdoors reveals a fascinating diversity of life forms – there is no unique best solution to the problem of how to exist and proliferate. For example, lifespans vary enormously in nature, therefore, successful organisms can come in ‘all shapes and sizes’. However, this at the same time does not mean that evolution is all about idiosyncratic (species-specific) innovations; instead, there is a wonderful tension between generalizable rules and specific circumstances, predicting diversity. My work involves making the above musings mathematically precise, thus aligning with the vision of bringing quantitativeness into life sciences.

Biography

Positions held

Since 2023  
Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany

2014 – 2022   
Professor of Evolutionary Ecology, University of Zurich, Switzerland

2014 
Short-term Fellow (2.5 months), Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Germany

2010 – 2014 
Australian Laureate Fellow & Professor of Evolutionary Ecology, Australian National University, Australia

2009 – 2010 
Sabbatical year at the Australian National University, Australia

2004 – 2010 
Professor of Animal Ecology, University of Helsinki, Finland

2003 – 2004 
Academy Research Fellow, University of Helsinki, Finland

2002 – 2003 
Lecturer, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

2000 – 2002 
Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow, University of Glasgow, UK

1998 – 2000 
Marie Curie Research Fellow, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK


Education

1997  
PhD, “Evolution of honest sexual displays”, University of Helsinki, Finland