Evolutionary Ecology Lab

Rodrigo Cogni Principal Investigator

I am an evolutionary biologist with broad interests in ecology and evolution. After getting my BA degree in Biology and a Master degree in Ecology at Universidade de Campinas in Brazil, I went to Stony Brook University in the US to get my PhD in the group of Douglas Futuyma. At Stony Brook University I have also worked for two years as a postdoc in the laboratory of Walter Eanes. From Long Island I moved to another tiny island for a two-year postdoc in the group of Frank Jiggins at Cambridge University. In June 2014, I returned to Brazil to join the faculty of the Ecology department at Universidade de São Paulo.

André Pimentel Post-doc

André is a biologist passionate about insects. He has experience on insect biochemistry and physiology. His Master and PhD research were carried out at the Chemistry Institute in the University of São Paulo (under Walter Terra supervision). He joined the Cogni group as a postdoc to develop studies on the Drosophila-Wolbachia-virus interaction to understand the influence of host and symbiont genotypes on viral infection.

Camila Beraldo MSc Student

Camila is a MSc student in the Ecology Department at Universidade de São Paulo (starting Feb, 2016). She is interested in how the virulence of natural enemies, such as viruses, changes over the evolution of their hosts (Drosophila spp.). Camila got her Bachelor degree in Biological Sciences from Universidade de São Paulo in 2015. During her undergrad studies, she joined an exchange program at the University of Sydney, Australia (2013-2014).

Murillo Rodrigues MSc Student

Murillo is a graduate Student in the Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology (2016-now). He received his B.Sc. in Biological Sciences from University of São Paulo (2012-2015). Murillo is currently working on contemporary selection in D. melanogaster immune system.

Lucas Paoliello de Medeiros MSc Student

Lucas is a MSc student in the Ecology Department, and an undergraduate student of Applied Mathematics, both at Universidade de São Paulo. He is advised by Paulo Guimarães and co-advised by Rodrigo Cogni. Through mathematical modelling and simulations, he is exploring how species abundances affect the coevolutionary dynamics in mutualistic networks.

Marcos Martins MSc Student