Izabel is interested in using comparative genomics to deepen our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms that give rise to and maintain genetic variation. During her Ph.D. at Aarhus University, working with Mikkel Schierup, Izabel investigated the rate of horizontal gene transfer among sympatric species of the genus Rhizobium, as well as the impact of homologous recombination on adaptive evolution within these species. During her stay abroad working in Przeworski’s lab (at Columbia University), she studied the evolution and co-evolution of PRDM9-directed recombination gene across vertebrates. For her Postdoc, Izabel is investigating the distribution of fitness effects on noncoding regions while also contributing to the development of an open source software for population genetics (stdpopsim).