Root Gorelick

Root Gorelick is an associate professor in biology, mathematics, and interdisciplinary studies at Carleton University, Canada. I am an evolutionary theorist, who was previously an economist and physicist. Our lab works on evolution of sex, evolutionary genetics of asexuality, chromosomal evolution, evolution of diversity, and mathematics of quantifying diversity and division of labor. I teach evolution of sex, introductory botany, evolutionary concepts, and population genetics. Once, during a single frenetic year, I had the pleasure of co-teaching a course in women and the law, as well as teaching mathematics, economics, experimental statistics, and biology. My studies of sex began by asking how plants are pollinated and fertilized. I then asked how signals on top of DNA determine sex of individuals and drove evolution of sex chromosomes. This grew into studying how heritable non-DNA signals infl uence evolution of gamete production and fertilization. This work cast doubts on differences between females and males and seems to debunk most remaining sexual division of labor. I am trying to infuse more feminist, queer, and trans theory into my biological research, hoping to eventually repay the favor by making my work accessible across all these disciplines.