Institute of Arctic Biology and
Department of Biology and Wildlife
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 757000
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7000

matt.olson@uaf.edu

lab website

Research Interests

My interests center on determining how ecological and evolutionary forces shape population genetic variation in plants. Current projects in my lab include the following:

1. Evolution of cytoplasmic male sterility in plants: metapopulation dynamics of selfish genetic elements.
2. Mechanisms and patterns of local adaptation in plants
3. Biogeography of Beringia

Teaching at UAF

• Principles of Evolution (Biol 481/681)
• Advanced Topics Seminar in Speciation (Biol 644)
• Molecular Evolution (Biol445/645)
• Ecological Genetics (Biol677)

Graduate Students

Current

• Amy Breen (Carroll), PhD Candidate
• Amanda Robertson, PhD Student
• James Stone, PhD Candidate

Former

• Amber Klaas, M.S. 2004. Genetics and sex expression in Alaskan populations of Silene acaulis.

Postdoctoral Associates

Current

• Keiko Miyake

Former

• Gary Houliston, Landcare, Christchurch, NewZealand
• Lisa Grubisha, University of Arizona

Recent & Noteable Grants and Awards

• NSF DBI-0701911, 2007-2011. “ Population Genomics of Cold Adaptation in Poplar ” Co-PI Peter Tiffin, University of Minnesota
• NSF DEB-0608539, 2006-2007. "Dissertation Research: Late Quaternary History of Balsam Poplar in North America" Co-PI Amy Breen
• NSF DEB-0317115, 2003-2007. “ Conflict in a Gynodioecious Plant and the Cost of Male Fertility Restoration ”
• NSF-Alaska EPSCoR Award for Visiting Scientist Helena Storchova, 2002. “Population genetics of male sterility in European populations of Silene vulgaris”
• NSF-Alaska EPSCoR Subaward, "A high-throughput DNA extraction facility at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks"
• NSF and Alfred P. Sloan Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Molecular Evolution, 1998
• The Perry Prize in Botany, Duke University 1998
• Fellow at the Center for Teaching and Learning at Duke University, 1996

Selected Publications

• Štorchová H. and M. S. Olson. 2007. The architecture of the chloroplast trnH-psbA non-coding region in angiosperms. Plant Systematics and Evolution. In Press.
• Houliston, G and M. S. Olson. 2006. Independent and non-neutral evolution of organellar genes in Silene vulgaris. Genetics 174:1983-1994.
• Olson, M.S., A. V. Graf and K. R. Niles. 2006. Fine scale spatial structuring in Silene vulgaris and its implications for the evolution of gynodioecy. Journal of Evolution 19:1190-1201.
• Olson, M.S., D.E. McCauley, and D. Taylor. 2005. Genetics and adaptation in structured populations: sex ratio evolution in Silene vulgaris. Genetica 123:49-62.
• Moyle, L.C., M. S. Olson, and P. Tiffin. 2004. Patterns of reproductive isolation in three angiosperm genera. Evolution 58:1195-1208
• Olson, M. S. and D. E. McCauley. 2002. Mitochondrial DNA diversity, population structure, and gender association in the gynodioecious plant Silene vulgaris. Evolution, 56:253-262.
• Olson, M.S. 2001. Patterns of fruit production in the subdioecious plant Astilbe biternata. Journal of Ecology, 89:600-607.
• Tiffin, P., M.S. Olson, and L.C. Moyle. 2001. The genetics of reproductive isolation: asymmetric crossing barriers in Angiosperms. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 268:861-867.
• Olson, M.S. and D.E. McCauley. 2000. Linkage disequilibrium and phylogenetic congruence between chloroplast and mitochondrial haplotypes in Silene vulgaris. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 267:1801-1808.

Professional Affiliations

• Society for the Study of Evolution
• Botanical Society of America
• Organization for Tropical Studies
• Genetics Society of America