Dr Will Nash

Academic Background

2024 - pres: Bioinformatician, NHM, London, UK

2016 - 2024: Postdoctoral Researcher, Earlham Institute, Norwich, UK

2015 - 2016: Lecturer, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

2011 - 2015: PhD, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

2010 - 2011: MRes Entomology, Imperial College London, UK

2006 - 2009: BSc (Hons) Zoology, University of Sheffield, UK

Biography

Will is a passionate evolutionary entomologist. He studied the behavioural and transcriptomic implications of environmental adaptation in the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) during a PhD supervised by Prof Tracey Chapman (UEA). Will then worked in a teaching role at UEA, during which he built a strong interest in teaching evolutionary biology, biodiversity, and genomics.

He moved to The Earlham Institute, Norwich (EI) in 2016 to work in Dr Wilfried Haerty’s Evolutionary Genomics group. Will worked at EI for 8 years, during which time he developed a wide range of bioinformatic experience and studied a range of genomic questions. Will work advanced approaches to study the functional non-coding genome using comparative approaches, and he continues to develop methods to lift over regulatory annotations from model to non-model species.

From 2021, Will became lead researcher on a range of pioneering genome assembly and population genomics projects focusing on European bee populations. Will has innovated in the design and deployment of sequencing projects in UK bumblebees and discovered novel and cryptic signatures of range expansion within the genomes these populations. Will is currently a Bioinformatician at the Natural History Museum, London, working (remotely from UEA) with Prof Ian Barnes. Will’s current research focus is using DNA from museum specimens, dating back to 1890, to interpret current population trends in a range of UK Bumblebees.

Key Research Interests

Landscape Genomics – Will aims to use genomic data from insect populations across the UK to understand how these populations interact with selective forces in the environment.
Museum DNA – Will’s research is greatly motivated by the work of natural historians, and the collections they have generated. These collections are basal to our understanding of UK biodiversity, and it’s change over time, but also present a much over-looked genetic resource.
Comparative Genomics – Working in an era of biodiversity genomics, Will is privileged to work as part of both DToL and ERGA Reference genome consortia. Using the amazing sets of resources these moon-shot efforts are generating allow great comparative power to interpret the tree of life and it’s function in ecosystems around us.
The Functional Non-Coding Genome – Will is motivated to understand adaptive evolution in the functional non-coding genome and it’s relation to gene regulation. He has worked with multi ‘omic datasets to explore the foundations of regulatory networks and their rewiring during adaptive processes.

Teaching Interests

As an Honorary Lecturer at The University of East Anglia, Will teaches Vertebrate Biodiversity (Level 4) and Data Science and Bioinformatics (Level 7).

Will has a range of supervisory experience across bioinformatic and ecology based projects at PhD, MRes, and UG. He greatly enjoys working with inquisitive students who are interested in developing computational approaches to ecology and conservation relevant grand challenges.

Areas of Expertise

IDEA in STEM

Will is a neurodivergent researcher. He is committed to innovation in the way STEM spaces can be made accessible to all underrepresented groups.

At EI, Will was Accessibility Champion on the Institute IDEA committee. In this role, he developed and led a range of activities to move EI forward on its journey towards being more inclusive. These included the instigation of on-the-ground review of physical accessibility in the Institute, as well as the initiation of a network supporting neurodiverse identities at EI.

Will has trained in using The Equity Compass and has also lead short workshops training others how to use this tool to construct socially just STEM learning environments. This tool was created by researchers at UCL, and provides free training materials.

Will is always happy to support others who are looking to learn more about neurodiversity in STEM and he is happy to receive emails from those who want to ask questions about neurodiverse experiences.