Dan Nussey
Why do immune responses and ageing rates vary so much between species, populations and individuals in nature? My aim is to develop our understanding of the genetic and environmental factors underlying variation in the ageing process, health and immunity in wild populations. My research combines the use of state-of-the-art statistical techniques, detailed long-term, longitudinal field data sets and laboratory-based assays of biomarkers of ageing, health and immune function.
My work aims to address the following questions:
· What is the role of the environment and genes in variation in ageing rates and longevity?
· How do environmental conditions during development and growth affect future performance and ageing rates in later life?
· What is the role of life history trade-offs in maintaining variation in ageing rates?
· Can biomarkers of ageing (e.g. oxidative stress, telomere length) help understand the maintenance individual variation in ageing rates and reproductive fitness in the wild?
· How does natural selection maintain genetic variation in immunity in the wild and how ecologically important is immunosenescence in natural systems?
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