Kalina Hristova Kapralova

2014        Ph.D. Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland.
2008        MSc Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, and Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Canada   
2004        BSc IUTA de Lille, France

My main research focus is on adaptive divergence, parallel evolution and speciation. I am interested in the evolution and the development of complex morphological traits. I am using northern freshwater fish, namely the recently evolved Arctic charr in Thingvallavatn to study the genomic basis and the molecular mechanisms behind adaptive traits such as craniofacial morphology, colour, body size etc. To map the traits of interest I use laboratory generated crosses of wild fish (QTL mapping) as well as historical recombinations (GWAS). My focus is also on gene regulatory networks and their role in the development and evolution of complex traits. For that I study the expression of protein coding and miRNA genes during development using RNA-sequencing. I also study the role of miRNAs in craniofacial development using zebrafish as a model, inhibitors of candidate miRNAs as well we geometric morphometrics.

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