Researchers in the Hey lab take a mostly theoretical and computational approach to asking basic questions about how the evolutionary process has shaped life on earth. Much of our research focuses on how populations and closely related species have diverged, and on developing tools (computer programs) for analyzing this divergence.

We also develop methods that can take advantage of population genomic data, including the use of linkage information, and the use of very large data sets for the study of especially recent demographic changes and instances of natural selection.

On the analysis side we work on a wide variety of evolutionary problems, including in recent years: chimpanzee speciation and divergence; gene exchange between Neanderthals and modern humans; the divergence of African cichlid species; and the study of the demographic history and spread of human populations.

In our quiet time, some of our work also touches on the philosophical and historical aspects of human understanding of the evolution process.