B.Sc., University of Toronto. Toronto, Canada

While studying molecular biology and chemistry at the University of Toronto for my undergraduate degree, Amaneet worked with Marc Johnson to study the effects of crop domestication on evolutionary processes in a generalist pest (the green peach aphid). Shen found myself more interested in biological questions when they were asked in the context of evolution. In the second half of her undergraduate program, Amaneet continued to explore her research interests in Helene Wagner‘s landscape genetics group and in Tim Westwood‘s research group, where she completed my undergraduate thesis project studying the role of the transcription factor Heat Shock Factor (HSF) during Drosophila embryogenesis using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and becoming fascinated with how early developmental processes are controlled.

In the Extavour lab, Amaneet was a graduate student in the OEB graduate program and was supported by a graduate research fellowshio from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada. Her thesis research, completed and defended in 2022, focused on the genetic pathways leading to germ line cell fate decisions during embryogenesis in the milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling in animal reproductive system development and function. Lochab, A.K. and Extavour, C.G. Developmental Biology, 427(2): 258-269 (2017). [PubMed]

View PDF

Turcotte, M. M., Lochab, A. K., Turley, N. E., Johnson, M. T. J. 2015. Plant domestication slows pest evolution. Ecology Letters, 18: 907–915. doi: 10.1111/ele.12467