Research in the Parkinson Lab mainly focuses on molecular evolution, molecular systematics, phylogeography, conservation and phylogenetic model choice. The foundation of our research is molecular phylogenetic reconstruction; however we are starting to incorporate studies on the population level. Generally, we use inferred topologies to study evolutionary processes such as biogeography, character evolution, nucleotide rate heterogeneity, natural selection and speciation. Currently, projects in the laboratory investigate the evolution and biogeography of snakes, lizards, marine turtles, and small mammals. Another aspect of my research includes plant molecular evolution using comparative genomics among their multiple genomes to study molecular evolutionary processes. This includes rate heterogeneity, nucleotide mutation spectra, and how differential substitution rates affect phylogenetic reconstruction.