T. Ryan Gregory is a Canadian evolutionary biologist and professor at the University of Guelph known for his research on genome size evolution and the C-value enigma. He has been a leading critic of overclaims about functional non-coding DNA, particularly in response to the ENCODE project's assertions about pervasive genomic function. His work engages substantively with philosophy of biology, especially around the interpretation of genomic data and the concept of biological function.
Developed the 'onion test' as a reductio against claims that most non-coding DNA is functional
Leading researcher on genome size variation and the C-value enigma across eukaryotes
Prominent scientific critic of ENCODE project's expansive claims about genomic function
Contributed to debates on the interpretation of genome-wide association studies (GWAS)
Extensive work on transposable elements and their evolutionary significance