Education and Professional Experience

• 2009-present, Assistant Professor, Biology Department, University of Miami
• 2007-2009, Assistant Researcher, Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii
• 2003-2007, Postdoctoral fellow in Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii
• 2003, Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology, University of Chicago
• 1994, B.A. in Biological Sciences, University of Chicago

Awards

• 2011-present, Smithsonian Institution, Research Collaborator.
• 2006-07, NAS/NRC Ford Postdoctoral Fellowship.
• 2003-06, NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship.
• 2003, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Postdoctoral Visiting Scientist award.
• 2000-04, Smithsonian Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program Grant.

Grants

• 2011 University of Miami SEEDS Award
• 2011 University of Miami Provost Award
• 2007 NSF IOS-0718975.
• 2007 NIH 1 R03 HD054621-01A1 (coPI).
• 2006 NAS/NRC Ford Postdoctoral Fellow.
• 2003 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Postdoctoral Visiting Scientist award.
• 2003 NSF DBI-0310269 Postdoctoral Fellow.
• 2000-2004 Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program Grant.
• 1999, NASA Life Sciences Grant (NAG-6033, PI-Nipam H. Patel, symposium grant).

Areas of Focus

• Developmental Biology and Evolutionary Biology

Research Interests

Research in my lab is focused on investigating patterns of change underlying organismal diversity.  We employ a wide range of experimental approaches to explore the relationships between genotype and phenotype from both developmental and evolutionary perspectives.  Developmental studies in the lab use three species as models; the lobate ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, the amphipod crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis, and the anthozoan cnidarian Nematostella vectensis.  Evolutionary investigations include work on a range of species affiliated with these three taxa.

Selected Publications

• Hurt, C., Haddock, S. H. D., Browne, W. E.. (2012) Molecular phylogenetic evidence for the reorganization of the Hyperiid amphipods, a diverse group of pelagic crustaceans. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution - accepted pending revision.

• Maxwell, E. K., Ryan, J. F., Schnitzler, C. E., Browne, W. E., Baxevanis, A. D. (2012) MicroRNAs and microRNA processing machinery are absent in the genome of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi. BMC Genomics - accepted.

• Zeng, V., Villanueva, K. E., Ewen-Campen, B., Alwes, F., Browne, W. E., Extavour, C. G.. (2011) De novo assembly and characterization of a maternal and developmental transcriptome for the emerging model crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis. BMC Genomics 12, 581.

• Dunn, C. W., Hejnol, A., Matus, D. Q., Pang, K., Browne, W. E., Smith, S. A., Seaver, E., Rouse, G. W., Obst, M., Edgecombe, G. D., Sørensen, M. V., Haddock, S. H. D., Schmidt-Rhaesa, A., Okusu, A., Kristensen, R., Wheeler, W. C., Martindale, M. Q., Giribet, G.. (2008) Broad taxon sampling improves resolution of the animal tree of life in phylogenomic analyses. Nature 452, 745-749.

• Browne, W. E., Schmid, B. G. M., Wimmer, E. A., Martindale, M. Q.. (2006) Expression of otd orthologs in the amphipod crustacean, Parhyale hawaiensis. Development, Genes, and Evolution 216, 581-595.

• Maxmen, A., Browne, W. E., Martindale, M. Q., Giribet, G.. (2005) Neuroanatomy of sea spiders implies an appendicular origin of the protocerebral segment. Nature 437, 1144-1148.