Rate My Professor Robert Unckless

Unckless's research program investigates the evolutionary genomics of genetic conflict at intergenomic (host-pathogen) and intragenomic levels using Drosophila models. Key areas include the evolution of antimicrobial peptides under balancing selection, coevolution with viruses such as the Drosophila innubila Nudivirus, bacterial and fungal pathogen interactions, and sex-ratio meiotic drive systems in species like Drosophila affinis. His lab integrates genomics, genetics, computational biology, microbiology, and biochemistry. Highly cited works include 'Adaptation via symbiosis: recent spread of a Drosophila defensive symbiont' (Science, 2010), co-authored with J. Jaenike et al., garnering over 640 citations; 'The ecology and evolutionary dynamics of meiotic drive' (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2016); 'Evolution of resistance against CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive' (Genetics, 2017); and recent publications such as 'A suite of selective pressures supports the maintenance of alleles of a Drosophila immune peptide' (eLife, 2025) and 'A single amino acid polymorphism in natural Metchnikowin alleles of Drosophila results in systemic immunity and life history tradeoffs' (PLoS Genetics, 2024). Unckless received the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award in 2021 for studies on meiotic drive genetics, along with multiple NSF and NIH grants totaling millions. He contributes through service as an award judge, conference organizer, and Genetics Society of America Editors’ Choice recognitions in 2018 and 2020.