Dr Susan Johnston
Senior Lecturer and Royal Society University Research Fellow
Address
- Street
-
Ashworth Laboratories
Charlotte Auerbach Road - City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH9 3FL
Background
2024 - Present: Senior Lecturer
2016 - 2025: Royal Society University Research Fellow
2013 - 2016: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Edinburgh, UK.
2011 - 2012: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Turku, Finland
2006 - 2010: PhD, University of Sheffield, UK.
Undergraduate teaching
I lecture on Field Zoology (3rd year) and Evolution of Sex and Breeding Systems (4th year).
Postgraduate teaching
I am the course organiser and main instructor on the MSc modules in "Quantitative Genetics" and "Linkage and Genome Analysis". I also lecture on PhD Numeracy Modelling & Data Management and MSc Professional Skills for Ecology & Evolution, where I teach R, Introduction to Git/GitHub, and Data visualisation with ggplot2.
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Areas of interest for supervision
I will advertise a PhD studentship for UK-based students in Spring 2026 to begin in Autumn 2026.
Current PhD students supervised
2025 - 2029: Olga Takki (co-supervised with Laura Ross)
2024 - 2028: Lisa Ammer
2023 - 2027: Gina Henderson
2024 - 2028: Harry Ames (co-supervised with Loeske Kruuk)
2023 - 2027: Katie Abson (co-supervised with Jarrod Hadfield)
Past PhD students supervised
2024: Kenneth Aase (visiting student from NTNU, Norway)
2019 - 2024: John McAuley
2017 - 2021: Lucy Peters
2016 - 2018: Alexandra Sparks (co-supervised with Dan Nussey)
Research summary
I am a Senior Lecturer and research group leader at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Edinburgh. My team uses genomics to understand selection and evolution in wild and domesticated populations. We answer questions on the evolution of sexually-selected traits, immune responses, and meiotic recombination rates in various vertebrates, including passerine birds, wild and domestic mammals, and salmonid fishes.
Current research interests
Evolution of meiotic recombination rates and landscapes in mammals and birds. Genetic basis and evolution of immune trait variation in wild mammals. Applications of genomic prediction approaches to understand microevolution in wild populations. Polygenic adaptation and simulation of selection responses.<br>Past research interests
Genetic basis and evolution of sexual weaponry in wild sheep and deer. Genetic architectures of life-history variation in Atlantic salmon.Current project grants
2026 - 2030 ERC Consolidator Grant RECOSEX: The causes and consequences of sex-differences in recombination rates andlandscapes (PI).
2025 - 2028 NERC Pushing the Frontiers: The causes and consequences of sex differences in meiotic recombination landscapes (PI).
Past project grants
2022 - 2025 Royal Society University Research Fellowship Renewal: The evolution of sexual dimorphism in recombination rates (PI).
2020 - 2023 BBSRC: Integrated approach to genome evolution using the Drosophila model (Co-I)
2019 - 2022 Leverhulme Trust: Mapping inbreeding depression in the wild (Co-I)
2018 - 2021 NERC Standard Grant: Causes and consequences of variation in maternal effects in the wild (Co-I)
2016 - 2022 Royal Society University Research Fellowship: Macro- and micro-evolution of recombination rate (PI)
Invited speaker
I have been invited to give >55 talks over my career. These include plenary talks at UK Population Genetics Group, the Genetics Society Centenary and Evolution in Sweden, and six plenary talks at meetings organised by PhD students. I have been invited to give sixteen talks at international conferences and symposia in evolutionary and molecular biology, including International Conference for Quantitative Genetics, European Society of Evolutionary Biology, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, and EMBO Meiosis.