Dr. Zachary Ardern

Research
An overview of key previously published papers is here. My work is mostly computational analysis of gene expression, genome, and proteome data. The main strands of my research cover the evolutionary invention of genetic novelty, theory concerning embedded overlapping (alternative frame) genes in bacteria and viruses, and cutting edge methods for inferring gene function.

Science Communication
I am working on  an educational tool for visualising and exploring some of the exciting data available from evolutionary genomics studies. www.evolutionviewer.com 
I write, mostly on science topics, at Substack:  https://substack.com/@convergentwanderings

Editing and Reviewing
I am an academic editor at PLOS Computational Biology. I enjoy reading new science and contributing to the publishing process; I also regularly review manuscripts and welcome opportunities to peer-review papers on microbial evolutionary genomics, de novo gene origins, experimental evolution, ribosome profiling or prokaryotic gene annotation, as well as grant applications.

Postgraduate Teaching and Supervision
At the University of Cambridge I co-lead the Infection Genomics module for the MPhil in Genomic Medicine. I also teach in the Research Informatics Training Centre.
I currently help to supervise a Wellcome Sanger / Cambridge PhD project on SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) evolution. I have previously co-supervised PhD projects on the functions of uncharacterised genes (at KIT in Germany), ribosome profiling, and the structure of the standard genetic code (at TUM in Germany). I have supervised or co-supervised Cambridge MPhil projects on protein structures in overlapping genes, bacteriophage genomics, and evolutionary constraint in E. coli genomes.

Undergraduate Teaching
At the University of Cambridge I have supervised sections within the course Mathematical and Computational Biology (NatSci part IB).  While a postgraduate student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, I taught for a number of molecular biology and philosophy courses.

Science & Theology
In my own time I also write and speak on various aspects of the complex history of interaction between science, philosophy, and theology. I was awarded the Oliver Barclay Lecture from Christians in Science in 2022 for related public communication, and I was appointed a Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion in 2024. In 2026 was appointed an Associate of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge. My work on these topics has been translated into other languages including Finnish, French, Czech, Polish, and Farsi. I've spoken for the Faraday Institute on the relationship between protein evolution and long-term directionality. More of my writing on these topics is here and at my Substack "Convergent Wanderings".