Dr Frank Hailer

Senior Lecturer

School of Biosciences

: hailerf@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 (0)29 2087 4125
: c5.12, Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX

: Available for postgraduate supervision

I am an evolutionary biologist working at the interface of genomics, molecular ecology and conservation biology.

I am part of the Cardiff University Otter Project, where we study otters in the UK and beyond. We are using a diversity of scientific approaches, for example studying their exposure to environmental contaminants, antimicrobial resistance and their population structuring.

I also work on a range of projects on seabirds, part of a wonderful group of storm petrel biologists (@CUStormies on Twitter).

Much of my work has to do with organisms living water, and hence our Cardfiff University Water Research Institute provides great opportunities for interactions.

Academic service

I serve as Reviews/Associate Editor for the journal Heredity (see here for submission guidelines: https://www.nature.com/hdy/authors-and-referees/gta) and as Associate Editor for Animal Conservation. Please feel free to get in touch if you're interested in submitting to these journals.

During 2016-2020, I served on a time-limited post as Committee Member on the board of the Genetics Society UK, representing Population and Evolutionary Genetics.

Roles

Leader of the Field Course Group of the School of Biosciences.
Module leader BI3153 Evolution and Species Adaptation
Co-module leader for summer field courses (BI2136 Ecology and BIT055 for M.Sc. in Global Ecology and Conservation students)
Organiser of Organisms and Environment departmental seminar series
Safety co-ordinator for the Molecular Ecology labs

Interested in joining my research group?

I enjoy including students in my research. My research group offers various opportunities for undergraduate, Master's and PhD students, typically involving lab work and/or bioinformatics/statistical analysis. I am also happy to discuss with interested postdoc candidates about the potential to apply for funding from sources such as NERC, BBSRC, Marie-Sklodowska-Curie fellowships, etc.

If you are interested, please contact me by email.

Since 2015	Senior Lecturer (since 2022), prior to that: Lecturer (since 2015), Cardiff University
2011-2014	Postdoc, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Senckenberg Research Institute & Goethe University Frankfurt
2007-2010	Postdoc, Smithsonian National Zoo, Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
2006-2007	Postdoc, Department of Evolutionary Biology (EBC), Uppsala University, Sweden
2006	PhD, Evolutionary Genetics, Uppsala University, Sweden
2001	MSc, Biology, Uppsala University, Sweden
1998	Basic exam in Biology ('Vordiplom'), Marburg University, Germany

After studies in biology at Marburg University (Germany), I completed my Master’s degree at Uppsala University (Sweden), where I continued to pursue PhD studies in the lab of Hans Ellegren and Carles Vilà (now at CSIC, Spain). My PhD work focused on conservation genetics of white-tailed eagles, but I also worked on other projects on dog domestication and canid population genetics. I then worked with Jennifer Leonard on hybridization of coyotes and wolves in North America. In 2007 I started a new postdoc with Rob Fleischer at the Smithsonian National Zoo. In 2010-2014 I worked at BiK-F in Axel Janke’s group, studying population genetics and adaptation of arctic vertebrates and their boreotemperate counterparts.

Professional memberships

Elected committee member of the Genetics Society UK (representing Area E: Evolutionary, ecological and population genetics)
American Ornithological Society (AOS)
European Soceity of Evolutionary Biology (ESEB)

Committees and reviewing

Since 2018	Reviews Editor for Heredity
Since 2012	Associate Editor for Animal Conservation
2014 - 2017	Junior researcher representative on Goethe University Frankfurt's Graduate Academy (GRADE)
	Peer reviewer for >40 journals [count updated in spring 2020] including PNAS, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Nature Ecology and Evolution, Molecular Ecology, Heredity, Nature Communications and Conservation Genetics

We are currently unable to retrieve the list of publications. Visit our institutional repository.

Undergraduate level:

BI1001 Skills for Science
BI1003 Organisms & Environment: Introduction to Conservation Biology
BI2131 Animal Diversity and Adaptation
BI2132 Genetics and its Applications
BI2136 Ecology and Conservation (co-module leader)
(part B: field course 'Marine Conservation' on Borneo)
BI3153 Evolution and Adaptation (module leader)
BI3154 Biodiversity and Conservation

Master's level:

BIT002 Research Techniques in Biosciences
BIT011 Key Skills in Research Practice
BIT055 Placement and Field Course

Genetics and Genomics

My research interests are broad, focussing on surveying genetic variation within and among species to infer key processes in ecology and evolution, such as speciation, adaptation, introgression and population structuring. I am also interested in the causes and consequences of dispersal, mechanisms of loss or maintenance of genetic diversity, and disease ecology.

Understanding these processes often requires knowledge about population structure and phylogeographic history. Hence, my research traces the origin and fate of genetic variation within individuals to their populations and species, and continues deeper into phylogenetic time scales. In this context I find it particularly fascinating to see how independently inherited parts of the genome reflect different aspects of present and past processes.

In my research I have studied a wide range of taxa, including bears, eagles, various species of tropical seabirds, wolves, coyotes and dogs, turtles, fruit flies, lynxes, elephants etc., spanning arctic to tropical habitats.

Ecology and Conservation

In my group we also use a variety of field-based or other (non-genetic) approaches to study biodiversity, for example:

Work on various aspects of seabird biology and our affiliation with the Cardiff University Storm Petrel team (see us on Twitter), as well as
A variety of mammal studies and links to the Cardiff University Otter Group (Twitter)

I currently supervise/co-supervise the following PhD students:

Current supervision

Past projects

PhD projects:

Dr Ali Basuony, PhD student at Cardiff University: Evolutionary genetics of two sister taxa, Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppelli) and red fox (V. vulpes). 2018-2023 (main supervisor)
Dr Hannah Hereward, PhD student at Cardiff University: The Conservation Biology of the Monteiro’s Storm-Petrel and Band-Rumped Storm-Petrel on Ilhéu da Praia, Azores. 2018-2022. (co-supervisor)
Dr Nia Thomas, PhD student at Cardiff University: Dynamics of demographic expansion and population structure in the otter (Lutra lutra). 2016-2021 (co-supervisor)
Dr Sophie Watson, PhD student at Cardiff University: Microbiota of Arctic species. 2017-2021. (co-supervisor)
Dr Alexandra McCubbin, PhD student at Cardiff University: Genetic and olfactory signals of mate choice in seabirds. 2016-21. (main supervisor)

Master's projects:

Tyler Cuddy, MSc student at Cardiff University: Spatio-temporal Land-Use Change of Juvenile White-Tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) on the Isle of Wight. 2022
Alicia Shroll, MSc student at Cardiff University: The Use of Spraint Samples to Study the Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra): The First Genetic Record of a Rare and Critically Endangered Otter Species in Lebanon. 2022
Matthew Hopes, MBiol student at Cardiff University: Disparity between geographic and genetic recovery of the Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) in the UK. 2021-22
Hannah James, MRes student at Cardiff University: Antimicrobial Resistance in UK Freshwater Ecosystems. 2020-21.
Lucy Rowley, MBiol. student at Cardiff University: Genetics of Cyanoramphus parakeets. 2019-20
Nicholas Price, M.Sc. student at Cardiff University: Antimicrobial resistance in freshwaters. 2019-20
Matthew Pollard, MRes student at Cardiff University: Identification and characterisation of regions of the brown bear Y chromosome. 2017-18
Liam Thomas, MRes student at Cardiff University: Bear Y chromosome population genetics. 2016-17