Dr Simon Ho has won an Early Career Researcher Award from the Genetics Society of Australasia for making an outstanding contribution to the field of genetics within five years of his PhD.
An expert in molecular evolution, Dr Ho’s impressive body of work includes 57 peer-reviewed articles, which have been collectively cited over 2,300 times.
His research on molecular clocks has had wide-ranging impact on how we estimate rates and timescales of evolution. His most highly cited work involves the development of new methods to account for variation in evolutionary rates and to use the fossil record in estimates of evolutionary timescales. His work has had an important influence on studies of phylogeography, domestication, human evolution, and other areas of evolutionary research.
Dr Ho has also worked extensively in the field of ancient DNA, where he provides the theoretical expertise to complement his collaborators in the lab. This makes it possible to gain insights into megafaunal extinctions and the relationships between modern and ancient hominids.