Kayla C. King is Professor of Evolutionary Ecology at University of Oxford, specialising in how interactions between hosts and parasites show evolutionary change.
In 2019 she was appointed professor of evolutionary ecology at University of Oxford, UK. She is also a tutorial fellow at Christ Church college.[1]
Her research into evolutionary biology makes use of host-parasite interactions between a wide range of microbial and eukaryotic parasites in both natural and laboratory situations.[2] These have included systems that are relevant to diseases of humans such as malaria and dengue and may assist in their biological control.[3] However, she has also worked with non-pathogenic systems such as the normal microbiome of snails.[4][5] Her research applies theoretical models as well as laboratory methods including genomics to study the interactions.[1]
Publications
King is the author or co-author of over 40 scientific publications. These include:
King, Kayla C; Hurst, Gregory DD; Lewis, Zen (2020) Let's emerge from the pandemic lockdown into a fairer academic world. Current Biology30 R799
King, Kayla C.; Brockhurst, Michael A.; Vasieva, Olga; Paterson, Steve; Betts, Alex; Ford, Suzanne A.; Frost, Crystal L.; Horsburgh, Malcolm J.; Haldenby, Sam; Hurst, Gregory D. D.(2016) Rapid evolution of microbe-mediated protection against pathogens in a worm host. ISME Journal10 pages 1915-1924
Brockhurst, Michael A.; Chapman, Tracey; King Kayla C.; Mank, Judith E.; Paterson, Steve; Hurst, Gregory D. D. (2014) Running with the Red Queen: the role of biotic conflicts in evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences281 Article Number: 20141382
Wolinska, Justyna; King, Kayla C. (2009) Environment can alter selection in host-parasite interactions. Trends in Parasitology25 pages 236-244
