Professor Nick Barton
nick.barton@ist.ac.at
+43(0)2243 9000 3001
Research Interests
I work on a variety of questions (see Current Research) in evolutionary genetics, the common theme being the use of mathematical models of selection on large numbers of genes, and on spatially continuous populations. Topics include speciation, hybrid zones, evolution of recombination, selection on quantitative traits, coalescence with selection, and evolutionary computation.
CV
2008 – Professor, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria
2000- Personal Chair in Evolutionary Genetics, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh.
1990 -2000 Darwin Trust Fellow, Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh.
1989-1990 Reader at Department of Genetics and Biometry, University College London.
1982-1989 Lecturer at Department of Genetics and Biometry, University College London.
1980-1982 Demonstrator at the Department of Genetics, Cambridge University.
1979-1982 Research Fellowship at Girton College, Cambridge.
1976-1979 Natural Environment Research Council research studentship on “A narrow hybrid zone in the alpine grasshopper Podisma pedestris”. Supervised by Dr. G.M. Hewitt at the University of East Anglia. (Ph.D. 1979).
1973-1976 Natural Sciences, specialising in Genetics at Cambridge University. B.A. (First Class).
Awards and activities
2013 Erwin Schrödinger Prize, Austria Academy of Sciences
2013 Mendel Medal, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
2009 ERC Advanced Grand
2009 Linnean Society Darwin-Wallace Medal
2006 Royal Society Darwin Medal
2004 – 2007 Royal Society, Sectional Committee 9 (Chair, 2007)
2004 – 2006 Royal Society, Biological Sciences Awards Committee
2003 – 2006 NERC Peer Review Panel (Terrestrial Sciences)
2002-2004 Conference Grants Committee, Royal Society
2001 Elected President, Society for the Study of Evolution (on Council 2000-2002)
1999-2000 BBSRC/NERC Steering Committee on “Genome manipulation and gene flow in plants and microorganisms”
1999 BBSRC MAFS Panel
1999-2001 Chair, Royal Society Research Grants Committee (Board H)
1998 American Society of Naturalists President’s Award (joint with Mark Kirkpatrick)
1997-2000 Genetical Society Committee
1997 BBSRC Fellowships Panel
1997 NERC EDGE Initiative Panel
1996-1998 Royal Society Research Grants Committee (Board H)
1995 Organised 5th Congress, European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Edinburgh, Sept. 4th – 8th.
1995 Elected Fellow, Royal Society of Edinburgh
1995-1997 Royal Society Sectional Committee 9
1994 Elected Fellow, Royal Society of London
1994 David Starr Jordan Prize (joint with S. Pacala)
1993 – 1994 SERC Mathematical Biology committee.
1993 -1998 NERC Terrestrial Life Sciences committee.
1993 Genetical Society Balfour Lecturer.
1992 Zoological Society Scientific Medal.
1989 Elected Vice-President, Society for the Study of Evolution.
1989 – 1992 SERC Molecular Biology and Genetics subcommittee.
1987 – 1989 Genetical Society Committee
1985 Linnean Society Bicentennial Medal.
Editorial work
2008-2011 Handling Editor, Evolution
2003 – Editorial Board, Public Library of Science
2001 Editor, special issue of TREE 16(7) on speciation
1997-2000 Editorial Board, American Naturalist
1994-1997 Editorial Board, Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
1993 – Editorial Board, Genetical Research.
1990 – 2007 Associate editor, Theoretical Population Biology.
1989 – 2007 Editorial Board, Journal of Theoretical Biology.
1985 – 1989 Advisory Board, Journal of Theoretical Biology.
1984 – 1989 Editorial Board, Heredity.
Major Grants
1981 A study of DNA sequence variation and speciation in two chromosomal races of the grasshopper Podisma pedestris, S.R.C. GR/B/61542. (£7,827).
1984 Speciation and the ‘shifting balance’. S.R.C. GR/C/91529. (£42,259).
1986 Polygenic variation and divergence: application of new mathematical methods. SERC GR/E/08507. (£52,589).
1988 Fitness and population density across a hybrid zone. NERC GR/3/6864. (£47,771).
1988 Genetic variation for total fitness and its components in Drosophila melanogaster. SERC GR/E/94524 (with Dr. L. Partridge). (£86,424).
1991 A quantitative analysis of the hybrid zone between the fire-bellied and yellow-bellied toads, Bombina bombina and B. variegata. NERC GR3/8002 (£74,612).
1991 A theoretical examination of Wright’s “shifting balance”. SERC Visiting Fellowship for Dr. S. Rouhani. SERC GR/H/12607, GR/J/18033 (£3,490; renewed 1993 £4,743).
1991 A theoretical investigation of polygenic variation in structured populations. SERC GR/H/09928 (£60,085).
1992 The evolutionary consequences of deleterious mutation. SERC GR/J/6057 . (£90,017). (graded 4)
1992 Population genetics and feeding ecology of an invading species: the Sika deer, and their hybrids with Red deer. NERC GR9/830 (With A. Illius) (£7,062).
1993 EC Human Capital and Mobility Grant ERB4050PL922765 (with J. Searle, Univ. of York) (230,000 ecu).
1994 The genetics of adaptation and speciation in the hybridising toads Bombina bombina and B. variegata. NERC GR3/9353 (with C. Abbott). (£205,673). Disappointing
1994 The evolutionary consequences of deleterious mutation. SERC GR/J/76057. (£90,017).
1995 Analysis of the distribution of the toads Bombina bombina and B. variegata across a hybrid zone: predictions from remotely sensed data. NERC GR9/01719 (with J.W. Arntzen) (£20,800)
1995 Development of methods for analysis of data from hybrid zones. NERC GR9/01909 (£16,029) Excellent/Good
1995 Genetic variation for fitness and its components in Drosophila melanogaster. BBSRC 31/G09821. (With L Partridge, UCL). (£190,000) (plus 18 month extension)
1996 GR/L10048 Stochastic processes in spatially continuous populations: applications in evolution and ecology EPSRC (with A Etheridge, Maths) (£90,000)
1996 Testing mutational explanations of sexual reproduction. BBSRC (with Andrew Read & Stuart West) (£ 195K)
1996 Introgression of Scottish red deer populations by sika deer (with J Pemberton) NERC GR3/10350 (£171K)
1998 Consequences of mutation accumulation for fitness traits. BBSRC (with P Keightley). (£213K)
1998 Genealogies and the process of speciation. NERC GR3/11635. (£144K) 1/8/98-1/4/02
1998 The coalescent process in genetically structured populations. (with A Etheridge, Oxford, and B&D Charlesworth, ICAPB) BBSRC/EPSRC MMI09726 (£111K) 1/7/98-1/1/02
2000 – 2005 Writing textbook on evolution, commissioned by Cold Spring harbor Press (with N. Patel, D. Goldstein, J. Eisen, D. Briggs)
2003 Genealogies in fluctuating populations: the effect of selection. EPSRC GR/S41203/01 (with A. Etheridge, Oxford) £130,208
2003 Theoretical analysis of speciation: a general framework. (with M Kirkpatrick) NERC £139,000
2004-2008 Novel Approaches to Networks of Interacting Autonomes (EPSRC GR/T11753/01) Joint grant with G Ackland (Physics) and G. Marion (BioSS). (£440K)
2005-2008 Distinguishing causes of reduced diversity. GR/T19537/01. Co-PI with A Etheridge (Oxford). (£138,307).
2005- Evolvable Networks of Intelligent and Secure Integrated and Distributed Reconfigurable System-on-Chip Sensor Nodes for Aerospace based Monitoring and Diagnostics. (Edinburgh/Surrey/Kent/JPL-NASA/SSTL/Epson/SpiralGateway) (EPSRC £1 million total) EP/C546318/01
2005-2007 Natural hybridisation and sexual selection in fire-bellied toads Bombina . Royal Society 2004/R1-FSU (with Alexey Yanchukov)
2005-2010 Royal Society/Wolfson Research Merit Award.
2007-2010 New models for spatially structured populations. (EPSRC S41203 £265K). With Alison Etheridge.
2010-2015 ERC Advanced Grant “Information and Evolution”. €1.9m
2010-2014 Natural Selection in Spatially Structured Populations (EPSRC 1013091 £215K). With Alison Etheridge2014-2018 FP7 FET grant SAGE “Speed of Adaptation in Population Genetics and Evolutionary Algorithms”, grant with T. Paixao (IST), Per Kristian Lehre (Nottingham), Tobias Friedrich (Jena), Dirk Sudholt (Sheffield). (€366K)
2020-2023 FWF P-32166 “Snapdragon speciation” with David Field (Edith Cowan Univ., Perth) (€399K)