You are here

Home » Login » Adam-Leaché

Adam-Leaché

Adam Leaché
Professor
leache@uw.edu
467 LSB
(206) 543-7622
Lab website
Accepting graduate students
Fields of interest
Evolution & Systematics, Genetics and Genomics, Phylogenetics

The Leaché Lab investigates evolutionary patterns in amphibians and reptiles, with research focused on phylogenetics, systematics, phylogeography, and species delimitation. We integrate fieldwork, specimen-based research, and genomic data to study the evolutionary history and diversity of natural populations, particularly in herpetological systems.
Our work combines next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics to analyze genome-scale datasets, and we develop and test phylogenetic methods through computer simulations. While herpetology is our primary focus, we occasionally collaborate on broader vertebrate projects that complement our core research.
The lab collaborates widely with other research groups to enhance the scope and impact of our work, contributing to both methodological advances and biodiversity science.

Interesting in joining?
Undergraduate students should send an introductory email to set up an appointment to meet in person.
Graduate students are welcome to send an introductory email that includes the following: 1) a brief overview of your background and research experience, 2) a curriculum vitae, 3) copies of any relevant publications, and 4) a description of your Ph.D. research goals.

Dr. Leaché is a Professor of Biology at the University of Washington and Curator of Herpetology and Genetic Resources at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a former McNair Scholar, recipient of the UW Distinguished Teaching Award, and a Fulbright Scholar. He is also a National Institutes of Health Genome Training Grant Faculty Member through the Genome Sciences Department.

Academic History
• NSF Bioinformatics Postdoc., UC Davis, 2008–2010
• Ph.D., Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley, 2008
• M.S., Biology, San Diego State University, 2000
• B.S., Biology, San Diego State University, 1997
• A.A., Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA, 1995

The spectre of too many species, Leaché, Adam D., Zhu Tianqi, Rannala Bruce, and Yang Ziheng , Systematic Biology, Volume 68, p.168–181, (2019)
A genomic evaluation of taxonomic trends through time in coast horned lizards (genus \textitPhrynosoma), Leaché, Adam D., McElroy Matthew T., and Trinh Anna , Molecular Ecology, Volume 27, p.2884–2895, (2018)
Evidence for concerted movement of nuclear and mitochondrial clines in a lizard hybrid zone, Leaché, Adam D., Grummer Jared A., Harris Rebecca B., and Breckheimer Ian , Molecular Ecology, Volume 26, p.2306–2316, (2017)
The utility of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data in phylogenetics, Leaché, Adam D., and Oaks Jamie R. , Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Volume 48, p.69–84, (2017)
Short tree, long tree, right tree, wrong tree: new acquisition bias corrections for inferring SNP phylogenies, Leaché, Adam D., Banbury Barbara L., Felsenstein Joseph, de Oca Adrián Nieto- Mont, and Stamatakis Alexandros , Systematic Biology, Volume 64, p.1032–1047, (2015)
The influence of gene flow on species tree estimation: a simulation study, Leaché, Adam D., Harris Rebecca B., Rannala Bruce, and Yang Ziheng , Systematic biology, Volume 63, Number 1, p.17–30, (2014)
A new species of horned lizard (genus \textit{Phrynosoma} from Guerrero, Mexico, with an updated multilocus phylogeny, Nieto-Montes de Oca, A., Arenas-Moreno D., Beltrán-Sanchez E., and Leaché A. D. , Herpetologica, Volume 70, Number 2, p.in press, (2014)
Species Delimitation using Genome-Wide SNP Data, Leaché, Adam D., Fujita Matthew K., Minin Vladimir N., and Bouckaert Remco R. , Systematic Biology, (2014)
Molecular Identification of A Hitchhiking Frog, Sherman, Erica M., and Leaché Adam D. , Northwestern Naturalist, Volume 94, Number 1, p.81–84, (2013)
West Africa-A Safe Haven for Frogs? A Sub-Continental Assessment of the Chytrid Fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), Penner, Johannes, Adum Gilbert B., McElroy Matthew T., Doherty-Bone Thomas, Hirschfeld Mareike, Sandberger Laura, Weldon Ché, Cunningham Andrew A., Ohst Torsten, Wombwell Emma, et al. , PloS one, Volume 8, Number 2, p.e56236, (2013)
Comparative Species Divergence across Eight Triplets of Spiny Lizards (Sceloporus) Using Genomic Sequence Data, Leaché, Adam D., Harris Rebecca B., Maliska Max E., and Linkem Charles W. , Genome biology and evolution, Volume 5, Number 12, p.2410–2419, (2013)
Additions to the lizard diversity of the Horn of Africa: Two new species in the Agama spinosa group, Wagner, Philipp, Leache Adam, Mazuch Tomáš, and Boehme Wolfgang , Amphibia–Reptilia, Volume 34, p.363–387, (2013)
Phylogeography of the Trans-Volcanic bunchgrass lizard (Sceloporus bicanthalis) across the highlands of south-eastern Mexico, Leaché, Adam D., Palacios Julia A., Minin Vladimir N., and Bryson Robert W. , Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 110, Number 4, p.852–865, (2013)
The accuracy of species tree estimation under simulation: a comparison of methods., Leaché, Adam D., and Rannala Bruce , Systematic biology, 2011 Mar, Volume 60, Issue 2, p.126-37, (2011)
Bayesian species delimitation in West African forest geckos (Hemidactylus fasciatus)., Leaché, Adam D., and Fujita Matthew K. , Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 2010 Oct 22, Volume 277, Issue 1697, p.3071-7, (2010)
Species tree discordance traces to phylogeographic clade boundaries in North American fence lizards (Sceloporus)., Leaché, Adam D. , Systematic biology, 2009 Dec, Volume 58, Issue 6, p.547-59, (2009)
Chromosome evolution and diversification in North American spiny lizards (genus Sceloporus)., Leaché, A. D., and Sites J. W. , Cytogenetic and genome research, 2009, Volume 127, Issue 2-4, p.166-81, (2009)