Martin Paliocha

I am a bioinformatician working on comparative genomics in the Grass Evolution Group, where biology, statistics and programming meet.

Why are some plant species better adapted to certain climates than others, even though they share most of their genetic material?

The answer often lies not in the genes themselves, but in how they are regulated. When, where and how strongly each gene is switched on explains much of the difference between plant species. To learn more about this, I compare gene expression across species using large-scale DNA & RNA sequencing data and powerful computers.

I am currently part of the RCN project Live or let die?, where I study the genetic basis of annual and perennial life cycles in temperate grasses (Pooideae). I am also interested in statistical methods and theory, particularly functional data analysis (FDA) of both gene expression and phenotype data.