David Peede
Biography
Hometown: Fort Riley, Kansas
Advisor: Emilia Huerta-Sánchez, Director of CCMB, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Research Interests: Coalescent theory, introgression, speciation, the evolution of mixed mating systems, and the evolution of ploidy.
What excites me most about my research is understanding the "weird" things that can happen in evolution—i.e., processes that break common assumptions in evolution. For example, my current research revolves around the study of introgression, which is the incorporation of genetic material resulting from interbreeding events with other species. While gene flow between separated species has historically been under-appreciated in evolution—it was commonly thought to be purely deleterious by breaking up pre-adapted gene complexes—recent advances in sequencing has revealed that introgression is much more common than previously thought and can even confer adaptive advantages.
I decided to do a PhD to satisfy my intrinsic curiosity about the natural world around me. Every day, I am presented with a new set of puzzles to solve, and in turn, I learn something new about evolution. Through my PhD journey, I have learned a plethora of new skills, from coding to statistical inference to public speaking, but ultimately, this process has taught me how to think critically and how to solve problems creatively.
The most challenging part of being a PhD student is learning how to cope with failure. Not a day goes by where I don't encounter a failure, from not being able to validate my derivations to finding bugs in my code. However, this challenge has taught me how to be resilient and persevere and equipped me with the grit necessary to overcome every hurdle I encountered.
My favorite thing about my PhD program is the flexibility my program gives me to pursue new opportunities. For example, while my PI was on sabbatical, I was given the opportunity to be the instructor of record for her computational population genetics class. Being able to teach a topic I am very passionate about not only helped me gain an even deeper understanding of population genetics but also reaffirmed my desire to become a research professor.
After my PhD, I hope to become a postdoctoral researcher with the goal of ultimately becoming a research professor at an R1 institution.
Outside of research, I enjoy reading, painting, and exploring the great outdoors.
Highlighted work: Computational Population Genetics Course: https://github.com/David-Peede/BIOL1435/tree/main