Geffrey Stopper, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Biology in the College of Arts & Sciences at Sacred Heart University. Dr. Stopper has broad research interests, but his research tends to focus on topics that fall within the field of evolutionary biology.

Developmental Evolution of Tetrapod Limbs

The main thread of Dr. Stopper’s research is in developmental evolutionary biology, specifically focusing on how changes in genes and the interactions between genes and gene products result in evolutionary change in the development of morphology. Currently Dr. Stopper most often approaches these questions within the context of the evolutionary transition from fin to limb, and the subsequent radiation into the diverse limb morphologies found in land animals. This means that work in his lab usually involves organismal biology in the form of raising animals and performing manipulations to developing embryos or larvae and observing the consequences of those manipulations. It also involves molecular work in the form of DNA & RNA isolation, PCR, RTPCR, and other related technologies.

Evolution in the Domestication of the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Dr. Stopper is also pursuing research questions related to the domestication and evolution of the yeast used in breadmaking, winemaking, and beer brewing – Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The domestication of this species appears to have involved many phenotypic changes from the wild ancestors, and has resulted in a great diversification to different types, not unlike the diversification to the regional and varied types found in more familiar domesticated species like cats, dogs, and agricultural animals. This research is carried out in collaboration with Sacred Heart’s Dr. Kirk Bartholomew. We are currently investigating 1) the relationships of domesticated yeast strains to better understand their historical pattern of domestication and 2) the phenotypic changes that occurred during yeast domestication and diversification, and the molecular changes underlying these phenotypic changes.