Contact Information
407 S. Goodwin Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
Research Interests
Evolutionary genomic, transcriptomic, and physiological changes in cold adaptation and specialization in Antarctic and Arctic fishes. Molecular evolution of antifreeze proteins and other cold-adaptive genes and functions. Marine biodiversity in Polar regions. Field research in Antarctica and the Arctic.
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor, Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior
External Links
Recent Publications
Cheng, C. H. C., & O’Brien, K. (2024). Extraordinary creatures: notothenioids and icefish. Journal of Experimental Biology, 227(12), Article jeb247957. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.247957
Corso, A. D., Desvignes, T., McDowell, J. R., Cheng, C. H. C., Biesack, E. E., Steinberg, D. K., & Hilton, E. J. (2024). Akarotaxis gouldae, a new species of Antarctic dragonfish (Notothenioidei: Bathydraconidae) from the western Antarctic Peninsula. Zootaxa, 5501(2), 265-290. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5501.2.3
Cheng, C.-H. C., Rivera-Colón, A. G., Minhas, B. F., Wilson, L., Rayamajhi, N., Vargas-Chacoff, L., & Catchen, J. M. (2023). Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly and Circadian Gene Repertoire of the Patagonia Blennie Eleginops maclovinus—The Closest Ancestral Proxy of Antarctic Cryonotothenioids. Genes, 14(6), Article 1196. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14061196
Minhas, B. F., Beck, E. A., Cheng, C. H. C., & Catchen, J. (2023). Novel mitochondrial genome rearrangements including duplications and extensive heteroplasmy could underlie temperature adaptations in Antarctic notothenioid fishes. Scientific reports, 13(1), Article 6939. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34237-1
Rivera-Colón, A. G., Rayamajhi, N., Fazal Minhas, B., Madrigal, G., Bilyk, K. T., Yoon, V., Hüne, M., Gregory, S., Cheng, C.-H. C., & Catchen, J. M. (2023). Genomics of Secondarily Temperate Adaptation in the Only Non-Antarctic Icefish. Molecular biology and evolution, 40(3), Article msad029. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msad029