Brandon Lind

Genetics of local adaptation to climate

Brandon received undergraduate degrees in chemistry and biology, completed his PhD with Andrew Eckert at Virginia Commonwealth University, and joined the CoAdapTree project in the summer of 2018 as a postdoctoral fellow supervised by Sally Aitken. Brandon is interested in understanding how selection affects the geographic distribution of adaptive genetic variation within and among hierarchically structured populations exhibiting extensive gene flow, and how we can translate this knowledge to inform management, conservation, and economic outcomes of studied taxa. Brandon’s work with CoAdapTree will identify putative genomic regions underlying adaptive responses to climate for four Pinaceae species of economic and ecological value to the Pacific Northwest. This data will be used in part by the CoAdapTree team to inform climate-based seed transfer strategies to ensure healthy forests that are better adapted to future conditions.  For more information visit his website.