Rate My Professor Charlie Cornwallis

Lund University

Biology Ecology Evolutionary Biology Zoology Limnology Microbiology Virology

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5.05/4/2026

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About Charlie

Charlie Cornwallis is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Lund University, holding professorships in the Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Functional Ecology, and Aquatic Ecology. As a Wallenberg Academy Fellow appointed in 2013 with a prolongation grant in 2018, he leads the Cornwallis Group, which investigates the origin and breakdown of complex life through major evolutionary transitions. These include the evolution of multicellularity, sexual reproduction, group living in societies, and symbiotic relationships. Cornwallis employs experimental evolution and phylogenetic comparative approaches, studying cooperative breeding birds such as ostriches—which he has researched in South Africa for over a decade—and green algae like Chlamydomonas and Volvox found in Swedish lakes. His work explores why these transitions occur, how complex life is maintained, the transformations in organismal design that follow, and the conditions under which complex systems break down. This research contributes to understanding social evolution and has implications for biodiversity conservation, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and 13 (Climate Action).