Dr. Michalis Barkoulas

Biography

With 20 years of experience, Michalis Barkoulas works on fundamental questions related to the complex relationship between genotype and phenotype. His PhD and postdoctoral studies at the University of Oxford focused on plant leaf development, providing genetic evidence for the role of auxin gradients in shaping dissected leaf morphology. He has undergone postdoctoral training at École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he introduced C. elegans as a key model system for studying signaling networks in development. A highlight of his work includes the quantitative analysis leading to the phase map of cell fate patterns in function of EGF/Notch dosage. He was recruited as a Lecturer in 2014 and built his own lab in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London where he employed as a Reader. His team has pursued disruption of reproducibility in C. elegans development by introducing random mutations to investigate how phenotypic variability emerges within isogenic populations. His research has unraveled genes buffering phenotypic variance - a central principle in biological system design and evolution. Additionally, he has characterized the resilience of epidermal cell fate patterning in response to changes in temperature and genetic background. Currently, Barkoulas investigates natural infections in C. elegans caused by oomycetes, an evolutionarily distinct group of eukaryotic pathogens. He has successfully led a range of prestigious, externally funded research projects supported by UK and EU institutions including BBSRC, Leverhulme Trust, Royal Society, and Wellcome Trust ERC, and has overseen the training and supervision of 8 post-doctoral researchers, 10 PhD students, and 90 undergraduate Master’s students in his lab.

Research Interests

Experience