Families as social systems
Kilner’s research examines cooperation between provisioning parents, competition among siblings and the relationship between offspring begging and parental investment. Family members can cooperate over resources while also differing in their evolutionary interests; feeding, development and reproductive outcomes make these interactions experimentally measurable.
Burying beetles and experimental evolution
The group uses burying-beetle families for experimental evolution, investigating how parental care affects offspring adaptations. Altering family conditions and following change across generations allows parental behaviour to be studied as part of the selective environment as well as an evolved outcome.
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Care, development and non-genetic effects
Her work examines how nourishment and care during development influence adult traits and how parental and offspring characters function together. Experiments showing reduced offspring fitness when those traits are mismatched connect family interactions with phenotypic variation and further evolutionary change.
Cambridge research and institutions
Kilner became a professor in 2013 and a Royal Society fellow in 2021. She began directing Cambridge’s Museum of Zoology in 2019. In 2023 she was appointed 1866 Professor of Zoology and head of department, with the university announcing her departure from the museum-director role.