Evolutionary biology: bridging the past and future

The evolutionary biology of plants will be the topic of discussion in the first inaugural lecture at the University of St Andrews this semester.

Thomas R. Meagher, Professor and Chair of Plant Biology, will deliver his lecture, ‘Evolutionary biology: interpreting the past, understanding the present and predicting the future’, in St Andrews tonight (Wednesday 22nd February).

Professor Meagher, Chair of the Sir Harold Mitchell Building and Director of the University’s Centre for Evolution, Genes and Genomics, will deliver a whistle- stop tour of plant evolutionary biology in just 45 minutes. Among the topics he will cover are forensic paternity analysis, sexual selection, island biogeography, genomic legacy, habitat fragmentation, and global biodiversity conservation.

Professor Meagher came to the University of St Andrews in 1999 from Rutgers University in the US, and since then he has been active in the UK-wide science policy as a founding member of the DEFRA Science Advisory Council.

The lecture, ‘Evolutionary biology: interpreting the past, understanding the present and predicting the future’, will be held at 5:15pm tonight (Wednesday 22nd February 2006) at Lecture Theatre A, Physics Building, North Haugh, St Andrews. The lecture is open to the public and admission is free.

ENDS

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Ref: Meagher inaugural 210206.doc

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