Lani Gleason investigates how changes in gene sequence and expression generate patterns of differentiation in marine organisms. She is especially interested in how environmental conditions, such as heat stress, affect these patterns of differentiation in mollusks such as the black turban snail Chlorostoma funebralis, the red abalone Haliotis rufescens, and the intertidal mussel Mytilus californianus. She integrates next-generation sequencing techniques with phenotypic assays to interpret large genomic datasets from a functional perspective. This allows her to make connections across levels of organization, from molecular interactions to organismal performance.