Professor Powell’s laboratory focuses on genetic aspects of the evolutionary process. The majority of his work is based on analysis of DNA, although the results are applied to issues of basic evolution, population biology, phylogeography, and phylogenies. They use molecular data to understand higher level phenomena. There are 3 major research programs of interest: Anopheles and Aedes mosquito genetics, the evolution of codon usage bias in Drosophila, and conservation genetics of Galápagos Tortoises.
