Christopher Lowe, Ph.D., Stanford University

Professor Lowe trained as a biologist in the UK at Sussex University. He moved to The USA for graduate training with Greg Wray at SUNY Stonybrook in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, where he worked on the evolution of body plans and the origin of the echinoderms. Following his PhD. he worked as a Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley working on the origin of chordates focussing on the evolution of the vertebrate central nervous system, first in Mike Levine's lab, then with John Gerhart and Marc Kirschner from Harvard. His first academic position was as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago in 2005. He moved to Stanford in 2010 and his lab is based at Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey. 

His main research interests involve how major groups of animals evolved and is interested in adapting emerging techniques in biotechnology to apply to new species. His appointment at Hopkins Marine Station gives access to the incredible biodiversity of the marine environment in Monterey Bay.