The general theme of my research is the study of evolutionary processes at the molecular level and the use of genomics information to explore biodiversity, ecosystems, and evolutionary relationships. The work in my group spans from basic molecular evolutionary biology to technology development and bioinformatics.

Dr. Mehrdad Hajibabaei is an expert in molecular evolutionary biology and has been a leader in the field of DNA barcoding since its inception in 2003. He developed many of the standard DNA barcoding protocols and has earned a global reputation for pioneering new techniques and pushing DNA barcoding technologies forward. Among other achievements, Dr. Hajibabaei has developed protocols for recovering DNA from highly degraded DNA, helped establish a standard DNA barcode marker for plants, and has championed the use of next-generation DNA sequencing devices for the analysis of complex mixtures. He holds a PhD in Biology (molecular evolution & bioinformatics) from the University of Ottawa. He is the Director of Technology Development at Biodiversity Institute of Ontario and an Assistant Professor at Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph.