Dr. Peter Holland

Biography

Peter Holland is the Linacre Professor of Zoology at the University of Oxford, where he focuses on the evolution of animal diversity and genomes. His research involves comparing genomic sequences among different species to identify gene duplications, genome duplications, and novel genes in rapidly changing gene sequences. He aims to uncover the major genomic changes that have contributed to the evolution of animals. He is a principal investigator of the 'Darwin Tree of Life' project, which has received over £12 million from the Wellcome Trust to sequence the genomes of key species in the ecosystems of Britain and Ireland, having already collected 2500 animal species from Wytham Woods, with 1000 genomes sequenced. His lab freely makes the genomic data available for analysis. Holland is also a co-investigator on a newly awarded £5 million BBSRC sLOLA grant that examines how genome duplication contributes to eukaryotic evolution. He teaches courses such as 'Diversity of Life', 'Genome Evolution', and 'Evolution & Development' at the university. In addition, he serves as a scientific adviser for the BBC and chairs the Board of the Earlham Institute. Previously, he was a trustee of the Marine Biological Association for 19 years and chaired its research panel.

Research Interests

Courses