Robert Lanfear

Robert Lanfear is a Senior Lecturer in Genomics at Macquarie University in Sydney, and is affiliated with The Australian National University's Research School of Biology. His research interests include molecular evolution, somatic mutation, phylogenetics, comparative methods, bioinformatics, speciation, and extinction. He has worked at ANU as a postdoc for six years before taking up a permanent position at Macquarie University in 2016, returning to ANU shortly thereafter. His work focuses on a range of topics within these areas, with an emphasis on developing new methods in phylogenetics and exploring the role of mutation in evolutionary processes.

Robert Lanfear is a Professor at the Australian National University, specializing in phylogenomics. His research focuses on developing and applying computational methods for phylogenetic inference, particularly in the genomic era. Lanfear has contributed significantly to the field through tools like IQ-TREE, PartitionFinder, and UShER, which enhance the accuracy and efficiency of phylogenomic analyses. His work addresses challenges such as partitioning schemes, model selection, and the impact of evolutionary factors like population size and generation time on molecular evolution. Lanfear's research also explores the reliability of scientific data and the consequences of experimental biases in evolutionary biology.