Dr. Rafiqi is Assistant Professor at Bezmialem Vakıf University, Beykoz Institute of Life Sciences and Biotechnology. He is broadly interested in exploring how development integrates genetic and environmental inputs into the phenotype - the primary target of natural selection. He uses insects because they are the most speciose eukaryotic organisms on the planet and possess a remarkable degree of morphological, physiological and behavioral diversity. Dr. Rafiqi expands upon the rapid advances in the field of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) in the past few decades wherein the developmental genetic basis of this diversity in insects was studied in detail. More specifically, he wants to integrate the role of ecology and the role of developmental endosymbiosis into the study of morphological evolution.