Felicity is interested in how the genome functions in naturally evolving organisms. 

• What is the molecular basis of adaptation?
• How does heritable genetic variation (e.g. mutations) affect cell fate and specialisation, organ function, and whole organism phenotypes, fitness, disease susceptibility and survival?
• Which type of mutations and molecular mechanisms enable organisms to cope with environmental change, adapt to new environments and evolve into new species? 

She investigates these questions using threespine stickleback fish: a powerful model organism that bridges the gap between studying genetics and developmental biology in the lab and the natural populations in the wild. 

Using a variety of molecular techniques such as combining environmental manipulation with single-cell multiomics she studies how gene regulation, chromatin accessibilty, epigenomics and development differ among sticklebacks that have adapted and evolved to different marine and freshwater habitats. She couples this with studies of marine and freshwater sticklebacks in the wild - including hybrid zones across the Northern Hemisphere - to understand how genetic variation influences fitness and survival in the wild.

Over the course of her career she has worked at internationally renowned institutions in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.