EICEdward R. Ivimey-Cook

Evolutionary Biology · Ageing · Open Science

Edward R.
Ivimey-Cook

Lecturer in Biological Sciences · University of East Anglia

UEA · Lecturer SORTEE · Past-President Ecology Letters · Data Editor
Portrait of Edward R. Ivimey-Cook

Edward R. Ivimey-Cook

About

I'm interested in understanding and investigating the huge diversity of ageing patterns that exists across the tree of life, from insects with elaborate parental care to fish, worms and birds.

My current work focuses on evolutionary theory, maternal senescence, the inter- and trans-generational effects of parental age and diet, and thermal tolerance. Threaded through all of these research themes is a strong commitment to open science and to improving the reproducibility of research across ecology and evolutionary biology.

I completed my PhD at the University of Edinburgh with Dr Jacob Moorad, where I studied maternal ageing in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. I subsequently held postdoctoral positions at UEA with Prof. Alexei Maklakov, working on the nematode worm C. elegans, and at the University of Glasgow with Prof. Pat Monaghan, working on zebra finches, before joining UEA as a Lecturer.

Now

  • Lecturer in Biological Sciences
    University of East Anglia
  • Past-President · SORTEE
    Society for Open, Reliable & Transparent Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  • Data Editor
    Ecology Letters

Previously

  • Postdoc · University of Glasgow
    with Prof. Pat Monaghan · zebra finch
    Intergenerational transfer of ageing: the Lansing Effect
  • Postdoc · University of East Anglia
    with Prof. Alexei Maklakov · C. elegans
    The cost of longevity: transgenerational consequences of parental lifespan extension
  • PhD · University of Edinburgh
    with Dr Jacob Moorad · burying beetle
    Experimental & comparative analyses of maternal age and senescence

Research

01

Ageing & senescence

Why senescence evolves and the striking diversity of ageing trajectories across animal species. Including the inter- and trans-generational effects of ageing, where parental age shape offspring life histories from one generation to the next.

02

Environmental effects

How the thermal environment and diet shape life histories. Including heat tolerance and adaptation in seed beetles, and the effects of dietary restriction and fasting within and across generations.

03

Open & reproducible science

Including code review, data- and code-sharing, and reporting standards. Building robust and reproducible scientific practice into the everyday scientific workflow.

Publications

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Open Science

A large part of my work revolves around making ecology and evolutionary biology more open, reliable and reproducible.

Leadership

  • Past-President of SORTEE
  • Co-Chair, SORTEE Advocacy Committee (with J. Pick)
  • Member, SORTEE Budget Committee

Publications

Journal editing

  • Data Editor, Ecology Letters
  • Publication Committee, ESA

Tools & apps

Open-source R packages and Shiny / web apps I've built and contributed to, to make research easier and more reproducible.

shinyDigitise

A point-and-click GUI for the metaDigitise package — pull data straight from published figures.

GitHub →

READMEBuilder

A Shiny app that walks you through writing a high-quality README for research data and code.

GitHub →

metRscreen

A Shiny app for screening records in meta-analyses and systematic reviews in R.

GitHub →

DCQC

A web app for data & code quality control under the SORTEE guidelines.

GitHub →

squidSim

An R package for structured, reproducible simulations in ecology & evolution — co-authored (led by J. Pick).

EcoEvoRxiv →

Merit

The website for the MERIT methods reporting standards.

GitHub →