School of Biological Sciences, Monash University | Co-Director, Climate Change Science Hub

Damian Dowling is an evolutionary ecologist. His group investigates how mitochondria influence population resilience to environmental stress, with a particular focus on climate change.

Mitochondria are central to energy production and act as first responders to environmental challenges, yet their contributions to evolutionary adaptation and resilience have often been overlooked. Damian’s research highlights how mitochondrial genes—distinct from nuclear genes—can play a critical role in enabling populations to withstand climate stress. His team integrates approaches from evolutionary biology, ecology, and genetics to reveal how mitochondrial dynamics contribute to evolutionary processes in a rapidly changing world.