Karl Kjer has been a recognized and respected member of
the scientific community for more than 20 years. A noted molecular biologist,
entomologist and taxonomist, and former professor at such research institutions
as the University of California and Rutgers University, Kjer has contributed
much to is respective fields over the years, particularly in regard to the area
of Insect Phylogeny.
A major contributor to such research and information collection
and analysis projects as the Trichoptera Barcode of Life Database and the 1KITE initiative, Karl Kjer
has long worked with colleagues to generate a phylogeny of Trichoptera. This
effort is, in large part, what led to the development of the 1KITE initiative,
which has provided collaborators the opportunity to study the transcriptomes of
more than 1000 insect species across all known insect orders.
As one who has made significant contributions to the field of
insect phylogeny, Karl Kjer is well-versed in the importance of phylogenetics as a field of study. An examination of the
relationships and evolution of different species and groups of species over
time, phylogeny is used to develop, in essence, phylogenetic trees which map
out how particular species and orders have evolved throughout history, and to
utilize that roadmap to better understand where species, groups and life as a
whole may be progressing.
Though it may often be confused with taxonomy, phylogenetics is
its own distinct field of study, bot methodologically and logically.
Karl Kjer, now a scientific consultant and freelance science
writer and editor, maintains strong interest in the research of such fields as
morphological evolution, entomology and phylogenetics.
