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Pablo Orozco Ter Wengel

Dr Pablo Orozco Ter Wengel

Senior Lecturer

School of Biosciences

Email
Orozco-terWengelPA@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 29208 75206
Campuses
Sir Martin Evans Building, Room c/5.08, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX
Comment
Media commentator
Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

I have always been amazed by the diversity of animals and plants. This interest led me to study biology where I learned about population genetics and the possibility of inferring species evolutionary history using molecular markers. My work focuses on using neutral genetic markers (e.g. microsatellites) to understand the interplay between the genealogical history of populations (or species) and their distribution over space and time. However, since the arrival of next generation sequencing I've also become interested in using the power of genomics (e.g. whole genome sequencing) to search for genomic regions involved in the process of local adaptation (e.g. adaptation to temperature or diseases). Understanding how adaptation takes place is extremely important in order to develop frameworks that will help us coping with climate change and ensure species survival into the future. My work covers both wild life (e.g. Malagasy amphibians and South American bears) and domestic taxa (e.g. Iranian sheep and Moroccan goats), and uses a combination of laboratory techniques and bioinformatics.​

If you are intested in joining my research group to do a postdoc, PhD or Master,  please email me.

Publication

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2003

Articles

Book sections

Conferences

Monographs

Research

My research revolves around questions regarding the process that maintain or drive changes in genetic variation in populations, e.g. demographic processes like bottlenecks and population structure, or natural selection related to adaptive processes to new environments. Within this context, I broadly divide my research in two areas. In one of them (conservation) I focus on understanding historical processes that lead to the observed patterns of genetic diversity, which when contextualised with current environmental trends can be used to contribute information for the generation of management strategies for species conservation. The other area is livestock genomics, where I do research to understand how the domestication process took place and the processes that have led to the current distribution of genetic variation in species such as cattle, sheep, camelids and tilapia, and use that information to contribute to the development of management plans to increase resilience and sustainability of livestock production systems.

My research uses a combination of traditional molecular markers like microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA, but also new methods from the genomics era, like SNP array data and whole genome sequencing, to generate the genetic data for analyses using population genetics, landscape genetics and phylogenetics. I analyse these data with a combination of available tools, or custom made bioinformatic tools that I’ve developed according to the specific needs of a project.

Teaching

I carry out a range of teaching from year 1 to final year undergraduate, and the supervision of postgraduate master project students. Current teaching includes contributions to:

  • BI2131 Animal Diversity and Adpatation (Basics of population genetics and quantitative genetics; Module deputy coordinator)
  • BI2134 Ecology & Conservation - Part B (Methods in tropical forest ecology - Borneo fieldcourse |  Danau Girang Field Centre)
  • BI3153 Evoluation & Adaptation (Speciation process, population genetics; Module Assessment coordinator)
  • BI3006 Final Year Projects (undergraduate)
  • BI4001 Research Projects (integrated master)
  • BIT014 Master in Research Project (MRes)
  • BIT054 M.Sc. Global Ecology and Conservaiton Research Project
  • BIT055 M.Sc. Global Ecology and Conservation - Borneo fieldcourse |  Danau Girang Field Centre

Biography

Education

2005-2011: Doctor in Natural Sciences Veterinary University of Vienna (Vienna, Austria)

  • Thesis Work: Population Genetics of Drosophila (Advisor Dr. Christian Schlötterer)

2003-2005: MSc. Universiteit van Amsterdam (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Thesis Work (1): Population Genetics of Dyscophus (Advisor: Dr. Miguel Vences)
  • Thesis Work (2): Detecting Natural Selection in Hybrids of Lactuca sativa and Lactuca serriola (Advisor: Dr. Danny Hooftman)

1997-2003: B.Sc. (Honors) Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogota, Colombia)

  • Thesis Work: Population Genetic Analysis of the Andean bear by means of 12 microsatellite polymorphic loci (Advisor: Dr. Manuel Ruiz-Garcia)

Professional experience

2018 - present: Vice-president Society of Tropical Ecology (Gesellschaft für Tropenökologie, GTÖ)

2016 - present: Co-coordinator for South America IUCN Conservation Genetics Specialist Group (CGSG)

2014 - present: Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University

2011 - 2014: Postdoc: Molecular Ecology Lab (Cardiff University) - NextGen: Develop optimized methodologies for preserving farm animal biodiversity in the context of whole genome data availability.

2005: Intern at the Bill & Bernice Grewcock Center for Conservation & Research, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. Phylogeographic studies of Dyscophus species and of Malagassy ground and tree boas (Acrantophis & Sanzinia). USA.

Intern in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Axel Meyer (University of Konstanz). Demography of Cichlid fishes. Germany.

2004 - 2005: Intern at Keygene N.V., Wageningen. AFLP analysis of hybrids of Lactuca sativa & Lactuca serriola as part of the Analysis of Gene Flow in Lettuce (ANGEL) project. The Netherlands.

2004: Intern at the Bill & Bernice Grewcock Center for Conservation & Research, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. Standardization and analysis of Microsatellites in malagasy frogs (Dyscophus & Mantella) and tortoises (Pixis, Erymnochelis & Geochelonie). USA.

2003: Technical Assistant to Dr. J.C.M den Nijs & Dr. D.A.P. Hooftman in the Analysis of Gene Flow in Lettuce (ANGEL) project at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. The Netherlands.

1997 - 2003: Technical assistant at the Molecular Population Genetics and Evolutionary Biology Laboratory, the Entomology Laboratory, and at the Museum of Natural History of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia.

Academic experience

Population genetics and conservation. Invited lecturer 2013. Centre for Agricultural and Applied Economic Sciences of the University of Debrecen, Hungary.

1999 - 2000: Academic Bord member Faculty of Science Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia.

Honours and awards

Research in my lab is funded by:

  • NERC
  • BBSRC
  • Royal Society
  • Newton Fund - Conycit (Peru)
  • Hefcw
  • Genetics Society
  • Socierty for Tropical Ecology
  • Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Professional memberships

  • Society of Tropical Ecology
  • Member of the Genetics Society
  • Member European Society of Evolutionary Biology
  • Member Royal Socity of Biologists
  • Fellow Higher Education Academy
  • Fellow Linnean Society

Academic positions

  • 2014 - present: Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University
  • 2011 - 2014: Postdoctoral researcher Cardiff Univeristy

Committees and reviewing

Co-coordinator for South America of the IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group (CGSG)

Vice-president Society of Tropical Ecology (Gesellschaft für Tropenökologie, GTÖ)

Editor: Conservation Genetics Resources, Ecology & Evolution, Animals, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Ecotropica.

Reviewer: Molecular Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology, PLoS One, Acta Biologica Colombiana, Heredity and BMC Evolutionary Biology, BMC Genomics, Conservation Genetics, Frontiers in Genetics, Proceedings of the Royal Society (Series B), Current Biology, Resources, Animals, Ecotropica, and Ecology and Evolution.

Grants Reviewer: NERC Peer Review College, BBSRC, European Comission, ERA-Net, Fondecit (Chile), FWF (Austria), Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) Belgium, SERNAP Peru

Supervisions

I'm interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

  • Population Genetics
  • Conservation
  • Genomics
  • Livestock
  • Metagenomics and barcoding
  • Bioinformatics

Current supervision

Luke Davies

Luke Davies

Graduate Demonstrator

Omar Mussa

Omar Mussa

Research student

Tyler Cuddy

Tyler Cuddy

Graduate Demonstrator

Maz Jumail

Maz Jumail

Research student

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Research student

Past projects

  • Katherine Mullin - 2023 - PhD student, graduated 2023, main supervisor. 
  • Nina White - 2023 - PhD student, graduated 2023, main supervisor.
  • Ewan Stenhouse - 2022 - PhD student, graduated 2022, main supervisor.
  • Daniel Pitt - 2022 - PhD student, graduated 2022, main supervisor.
  • Jody Leigh Edmunts - 2022 - PhD student, graduated 2022, main supervisor.

Engagement

I engage in a range of activites in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) including the Wales Gene Park initiative, and occasionally through public media.

  • BBC Countryfile - 2023 - The soay sheep and genomic resources
  • BBC Radio Wales - 2018 - piece on the discovery of a new Orangutan species
  • BBC Countryfile - 2015- piece about Dine Fwr's White Park Cattle genetics
  • Talks to various community groups, e.g. Cardiff Humanis Society and West Glamorgan Humanists
  • Panellist at film engagement event by Cardiff SciScreen 2014
  • Royal Welsh 2013, BBC and Royal Welsh Agricultural Society
  • BBC Summer of Wildlife Event, 2013. BBC and Cardiff University
  • Conservation of Endangered Species and Wildlife Forensics. The Wales Gene Part sixth from conference 2012

Specialisms

  • Population Genetics
  • Bioinformatics
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Conservation and biodiversity
  • Molecular evolution