Emma Hammarlund

I'm a geobiologist by training (MSc in Biology and PhD in Geology) that is now working in the field of medicine to unravel more clues to the transition between unicellularity and multicellularity, plus diversification of the latter. This 'visit' in the fields of cancer and stem cell biology has made me see that tissue renewal through stem cells is an oxygen-sensitive process. Therefore, the visit has forced me to explore other drivers for diversification than an increase of oxygen as the plausible trigger for animal diversification in the Cambrian. Instead, I have become aware of how biological mechanisms to preserved low-oxygen conditions and cell responses are shared between all recent animals. I now explore how redox fluctuations can drive adaptations and diversification, both on a cellular and organismal level.