Vicki Thomson is an evolutionary biologist who uses DNA to investigate how Australasian animals have adapted / will adapt to changing environments. An animal's DNA sequence can tell us about how many of them there were in the past—did they decline almost to the point of extinction—and about how low their genetic diversity go—did they lose individuals with important versions of genes that would otherwise have allowed them to adapt, for example, to aridity via increased desiccation resistance?
Experience
2018–present
ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Adelaide
2013–2017
ARC Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Adelaide
Education
2013
University of Adelaide, PhD
2007
University of Queensland, BSc (Honours)
2005
University of Queensland, BSc/BA
Publications
2014
Molecular genetic evidence for the place of origin of the Pacific Rat, Rattus exulans, PLoS One
2013
Pleistocene Chinese cave hyenas and the recent Eurasian history of the spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta, Molecular Ecology