Summary
Professor Vincent Savolainen is the Director of the Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, a College initiative that brings together a multi-disciplinary group of researchers to tackle some of the greatest environmental challenges. Professor Savolainen was Deputy Head of the Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park Campus) between 2013 and 2016. Before joining Imperial College in 2007, he spent nine years as Deputy Head of Molecular Systematics at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Professor Savolainen is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. In 2006, he was awarded the Linnean Society’s Bicentenary Medal. In 2008, he was awarded a European Research Council Advanced Grant, and the following year a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. In 2014, he was elected a Member of EMBO, and was awarded the Coincy Medal for Botany. In 2015, he was listed in Reuters World's Most Influential Scientific Minds for publishing some of the greatest numbers of highly cited papers in plant and animal science during 2003-2013. Professor Savolainen sits on various panels and advisory committees, including the UK Natural Environment Research Council Peer Review College and the Royal Society International Committees.
His group combines field ecology, molecular phylogenetics, and population genomic approaches to key societal challenges, from explaining the origin of biodiversity to finding solutions for its preservation in a rapidly changing world. Recent research also tackles the Darwinian paradox of sexual orientation.
Current group members:
Will Redding
Henry Hosker
Jemima Frame
Ben Roberts
Chloe Coxshall
Theo Brooks
Jeremie Morel
Kyle Mcleod
Katarina Piponi
Selected news:
Scientists Closer to Understanding Gay Behavior in Animals
Monitoring British bats can help identify coronaviruses with pathogen potential
Disease spillover risk ‘overlooked’ as scientists find four species of coronavirus in UK wild bats
Trove of new coronaviruses uncovered in bats — but threat is unclear
Sewage overspill in the Thames likely does not lead to COVID-19 risk
Biodiversity crisis on the agenda: Silwood brings science and policy together
Bugs, Birds & Beasts Day enjoys record number of attendees on celebratory year
COVID-19 poo test for bats may help pandemic monitoring and conservation efforts
Same sex parenting in the animal kingdom
Bugs, Birds, and Beasts Day 2021
Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet launches at Silwood Park
Researchers have devised a new sampling method for the elusive hazel dormouse
Chinese water deer introduced to UK may be valuable to restoring numbers in Asia
Mapping coronavirus in sewage could reveal disease hotspots
Could Africa have a sustainable palm industry?
Scientists explore the evolution of animal homosexuality
Publications
Journals
Savolainen V, Bailey NW, Diamond L, et al., 2024, A broader cultural view is necessary to study the evolution of sexual orientation, Nature Ecology and Evolution, Vol:8, ISSN:2397-334X, Pages:181-183
Savolainen V, 2023, Environmental DNA helps reveal reef shark distribution across a remote archipelago, Ecological Indicators, Vol:154, ISSN:1470-160X, Pages:1-10
Clive J, Flintham E, Savolainen V, 2023, Same-sex sociosexual behaviour is widespread and heritable in male rhesus macaques, Nature Ecology and Evolution, Vol:7, ISSN:2397-334X, Pages:1287-1301
Tan C, Trew J, Peacock T, et al., 2023, Genomic screening of 16 UK native bat species through conservationist networks uncovers coronaviruses with zoonotic potential, Nature Communications, Vol:14, ISSN:2041-1723, Pages:1-13
Abubakkar-Waziri H, Kalaiarasan G, Wawman R, et al., 2023, SARS-CoV2 in public spaces in West London UK during COVID-19 pandemic, Bmj Open Respiratory Research, Vol:10, ISSN:2052-4439