Professor Emma Teeling

Emma Teeling, Ph.D. is Full Professor of Zoology in the School of Biology and Environmental Science at University College Dublin. She is an international leader in the cross-cutting fields of mammalian phylogenetics and comparative genomics, with particular expertise, in bat biology.

Her integrative research in zoology, phylogenetics, genomics, and conservation biology uncovers the genetic signatures of survival that enable species to adapt to an ever-changing environment.

The two main goals of her research are:

1. Study unique model species to enable a better understanding of the structure and function of the human genome to inform medicine and molecular biology;
2. Understand and therefore conserve, natural populations and environments to promote ecosystem well-being and functioning.

For the past 15 years, Emma has investigated the evolutionary relationships among mammals both at the nucleotide and genomic levels. Mammals are one of the most diverse groups of vertebrates, with large differences in body size, life span, ecological adaptation, metabolic rate, behavior, reproduction, and locomotion.

She examines this variation using comparative genomics to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying morphological and physiological adaptation and to help annotate and explain our genome.

She uses evolutionary analyses of whole genomes and targeted genes sequenced in divergent species to understand the patterns of human disease mutations in many inherited visual and auditory diseases. She investigates how species and populations transform in response to recent environmental changes and uses genetic data to inform conservation management plans.

Her current research projects include:

1. Evolution of exceptional longevity in mammals,
2. Evolution of sensory perception in mammals and the implications for visual and auditory diseases,
3. Untangling the drivers of sensory speciation,
4. The mammal Tree of Life,
5. Phylogenetic history, population structure and conservation status of Irish bats.

Emma established the Laboratory of Molecular Evolution and Mammalian Phylogenetics in 2005 and is the Founding Director of the Centre for Irish Bat Research at University College Dublin (UCD) since 2008. She was awarded a prestigious European Research Council Starting grant in 2012, a President of Ireland Young Researcher Award by Science Foundation Ireland in 2006, an Irish Research Council (IRC) Laureate Award (2018–2022), and an SFI Future Frontiers Award (2020–2025). She is also the Management Committee Member of the Bats and Climate Change organization.

She has been an Associate Professor in Evolution and Genetics at UCD since 2012 and is the Founding Director of BAT1K, an international consortium of scientists, technologists, and bat lovers, united to conserve and sequence the genome of all living bats, approximately 1400 species in total, by developing novel genomic methods and concepts, raising funds, and inspiring people across the globe to achieve this goal. She was awarded Chevalier des Palmes Académiques in 2017 by the French Government for her research.

Emma is also the Founding Advisor of Paratus Sciences, a startup biotech company committed to improving human health and health security through an understanding of bat biology. They are focused on identifying and developing potential therapeutics for a myriad of diseases by unlocking the secrets of the bat.

She successfully leads an internationally renowned research team and has secured over 4.4M euros in research funding. She is listed in the top 100 female Irish scientists (2014) and gave a TEDx talk The Secret of the bat genome in 2012 with more than 570,000 downloads. Read Bats and volcanoes research funded in UCD’s latest EU award success.

She was European Research Council Starting Investigator, UCD between 2013 and 2018. Previously, Emma was the President of Ireland Young Researcher at UCD, Ireland between 2006 and 2012 and Lecturer in Evolution and Genetics in the School of Biology and Environmental Science at UCD, Ireland between 2005 and 2012.

Emma earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Phylogenetics at Queen’s University Belfast, North Ireland, and the University of California, Riverside in California, USA between 1997 and 2001.

She was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, USA between 2002 and 2005.

She earned her Master’s Degree of Science in Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Cochrane Ecological Institute, Alberta, Canada in 1996. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Zoology with 1st Class Honors at UCD in 1995.

She was an invited Speaker at the Longevity Summit Dublin 2023 and 2024, ARDD2022, and The University of Sydney. Watch Bats hold the secret of extended healthspan.

Watch Professor Emma Teeling Join us this year to unlock the Secrets of Extended Healthspan, The Extraordinary Longevity of Bats – Emma Teeling at Longevity Summit Dublin 2023, and The long and short of bats’ extended healthspans.

Watch DNA Repair Mechanisms and Aging: Lessons From Bat, Interview with Professor Emma Teeling, and Emma Teeling inspires in comparative genomics and Bat Biology at @longevitysummitdublin.

Listen to Creatures of the night: the genetics of bats; Emma Teeling: Bats and why I love them and Prof Emma Teeling – Bats, Ageing and Coronavirus.

Read Emma Teeling on What We Can Learn from Bats.

Read some of her most cited papers Resolution of the early placental mammal radiation using Bayesian phylogenetics, Impacts of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution and KPg extinction on mammal diversification, Towards complete and error-free genome assemblies of all vertebrate species, and A molecular phylogeny for bats illuminates biogeography and the fossil record.

Visit her LinkedIn profile, Wikipedia Page, Google Scholar, and Academic page. Follow her on Facebook, Academia, ResearchGate, Instagram, and Twitter.