Thomas Lenormand

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Thomas Lenormand is CNRS research director at the Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, in Montpellier, France. He is an evolutionary geneticist combining mathematical theory, statistical developments, laboratory experiments, and field work. His work addresses a broad range of questions and species at the interface of evolution, genetics, and ecology. He mostly focuses on adaptation, the evolution of genetic systems, and the effect of mutations.

As a Radcliffe fellow, Lenormand is working on the evolution of gene expression. For theoretical and historical reasons, modern evolutionary theory has little incorporated the detailed mechanisms of gene regulation. Gene expression regulation, however, is now central to most fields of biology. He plans to bridge this interdisciplinary gap and set the foundation of a comprehensive evolutionary theory of gene regulation evolution.

Lenormand received his PhD from the University of Montpellier. He has been awarded the Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution and the Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigators Award from the American Society of Naturalists. His work has been funded by the European Research Council, the French National Research Agency, and the Ministère de lʼEnseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de lʼInnovation.