Christine Merlin

Job Description

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and Center for Biological Clock Research at Texas A&M University with >15 years of experience using the monarch butterfly as a model system for clocks and neuroethology research. My background and training encompass molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, genomics, physiology and behavior. As a post-doctoral fellow and lab head I pioneered the development of an array of cutting-edge genetic and genomic tools in the monarch butterfly that established this non-conventional species as a new and attractive model for clock research.

The Merlin lab uses the monarch butterfly as a model system to dissect the molecular bases of circadian and seasonal rhythms, animal migration, and animal magnetoreception, using a variety of cutting-edge molecular, biochemical, genomics and behavioral tools.

The interdisciplinary nature of our work, currently supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health, offers a rich scientific and intellectual environment for trainees.