Matthew Sims

My research focuses three different, yet interconnected questions regarding biological systems: what are the different mechanisms by which organisms both adaptively respond to the structure in their environments and create fitness relevant structure ?; how do these mechanisms influence one another over both evolutionary and developmental timescales?; how have learning, memory, and anticipation evolved? In oder to approach these questions my research investigates lifecycles, ecology, and phenotypic plasticity in non-neuronal organisms. One such organism is P. polycephalum (acellular slime mould).