Dr Reinmar Hager MSc, PhD

Overview

Our research utilizes experimental and bioinformatics approaches to investigate key questions in evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology and complex trait and biomedical research.

We seek to understand how genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors interact and contribute to trait variation. We use different model systems ranging from invertebrate to mammalian models (aphids, daphnia, roaches, mouse, rat, human) and plants, and investigate traits from the molecular level (e.g. expression and epigenetic profiles), tissue level (e.g. brain) through to neuroanatomical and behavioural traits in whole organisms.

Biography

Postdoctoral Appointments
2018 Senior Lecturer, The University of Manchester
2011 Lecturer, The University of Manchester
2008 NERC Research Fellow, The University of Manchester
2005 Postdoctoral Research Associate, The University of Manchester
2004 Postdoctoral Research Assistant, University of Cambridge

Education
2004 PhD, Trinity College, University of Cambridge
1999 MSc (Diplom-Biologe), University of Würzburg
1996-1997 Undergraduate studies in biology, University of Edinburgh
1993-1996 Undergraduate studies in economics, psychology, law and biology, Universities of Kassel, Munich and Stuttgart

Awards & Distinctions
2009-2014 DFG Emmy Noether Group Leader, LMU Munich (declined)
2009         World Health Summit, Berlin, invitation
2008-2011 NERC Research Fellowship
2005-2007 DFG Emmy Noether Research Fellowship
2002-2003 Senior Rouse Ball Scholarship, Trinity College

External Committees
2021-present Commonwealth Scholarship Service - Academic Advisor
2018 External Assessor, University College Dublin, Ireland
2016-present NERC Panel C and IOF panel member
2012-present NERC Peer Review College

Internal Committees and appointments
2021-present University Finance Committee
2021-present Chair, School Board, School of Biological Sciences                                           
2019-present Senior Postgraduate Tutor
2017-present Board of Governors
2017-present Senate
2018-2021 University Staffing Committee
2008-2020 General Assembly
2016-2019 School Lead for International Postgraduate Research
2012-2015 Board of Governors
2012-2015 Senate
2014-2015 University Staffing Committee
2011-2016 Postgraduate Tutor
 
Dissemination
Plenaries: 6 international plenaries
Seminars: 32 invited University seminars, 63 conference contributions
Media: research featured in numerous international media, e.g. Der Standard, Der Tagespiegel, Nature, Noorderlicht, Science, Westdeutsche Rundfunk, BBC News

Editorial Boards
2021-present  BMC Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Associate Editor
2018-2021     BMC Evolutionary Biology, Associate Editor
2014-2018     BMC Genetics, Associate Editor
2010-2014     Frontiers in Genetics of Complex Traits, Review Editor

Social Responsibility
2012-present  Director: The Portico Library, Manchester
2021-present  Chair, Finance and Resources Committee, The Portico Library, Manchester
2014-2020      Vice Chair: The Portico Trust Charity, Manchester

Key Publications

Ashbrook DG, Gini B, Hager R. 2016. Genetic variation in offspring indirectly influences the quality of maternal behaviour in mice. eLife, 10.7554/eLife.11814

Hager R, Lu L, Rosen GD, Williams RW. 2012. Genetic architecture supports mosaic brain evolution and independent brain-body regulation. Nature Communications, 3, 1079.

Nonacs P, Hager R. 2011. The past, present and future of reproductive skew theory and experiments. Biological Reviews, 86, 271-298.

Cheverud JM, Hager R, Roseman C, Fawcett G, Wang B, Wolf JB. 2008. Genomic imprinting effects on adult body composition in mice. PNAS, 105, 4253-4258.

Wolf JB, Cheverud JM, Roseman C, Hager R. 2008. Genome-wide analysis reveals a complex pattern of genomic imprinting in mice. PLoS Genetics, 4, e1000091.

Wolf JB, Hager R. 2006. A maternal-offspring coadaptation theory for the evolution of genomic imprinting. PLoS Biology, 4(12)

Hager R, Johnstone RA. 2003. The genetic basis of family conflict resolution in mice. Nature, 421, 533-535.

Roulin A, Hager R. 2003. Indiscriminate nursing in communal breeders: A role for genomic imprinting. Ecology Letters 6, 165-166

Book Hager R, Jones CB. 2009. Reproductive Skew. Cambridge UP.

Social responsibility

I am a director of the Portico Library, and vice chair of the Portico Library Trust, both based in Manchester.

The Portico Library is a 214-year-old independent subscription library in Manchester City Centre. Still housed in its original Georgian building on Mosley Street, it is now open free to the public six days a week for an eclectic calendar of exhibitions and events, complementing the unique collection of books, archives and illustrations spanning over 450 years. Previously a members’ only institution with associates including John Dalton, Peter Mark Roget, Elizabeth Gaskell, Emmeline Pankhurst, Robert Peel, and Richard Cobden, all visitors can now enjoy a meal or drink in the cafe from Monday to Saturday and participate in diverse outreach and engagement programmes including the prestigious Portico Prize.