Kristi Montooth
Postdoctoral Researcher

My interests lie in the population and evolutionary genetics of traits that depend upon the flow of energy through metabolic pathways. My research employs a candidate pathway approach to investigate the quantitative genetics of flight metabolism and the evolutionary implications of interactions between ethanol, acetic acid and phospholipid metabolism in Drosophila.  In David's lab I am extending this approach to include flux through the oxidative phosphorylation complexes. Oxidative phosphorylation requires cooperation between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes, both through physical interactions within the complexes and in the coordinated regulation of cytosolic and mitochondrial metabolism. I am currently investigating the physiological consequences of disrupting the co-evolved relationship between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes in Drosophila and the role that diet and naturally-occurring nuclear genetic variants play in mediating this disruption.

Rebecca Wagaman
Graduate Student

I am a fourth-year graduate student in the Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, and Biochemistry graduate program here at Brown, but I am also interested in human variation and how that genetic component contributes to aging.  I joined the Rand lab in 2003.  I am currently studying longevity in a Drosophila melanogaster -D.simulans mitochondrial hybrid to examine how the cytonuclear disruption in metabolic complex components may affect aging.  I am also interested in the dietary restriction and insulin signaling pathways, and particularly what role mitochondrial genotype plays in these methods of lifespan extension.