News & Events
Analyzing Evolutionary Trade-Offs in Immune Systems: Computational Biology with Reese Martin
Jul. 22, 2024—By Nick McCoy, Evolutionary Studies undergraduate communications assistant聽 Reese Martin has always been drawn to biology and exploring the behaviors of different organisms. During his childhood, he dug in anthills, and now he observes the life history traits of flower beetles and other taxa. Martin鈥檚 new first-author paper, 鈥淧leiotropy Alleviates the Fitness Costs Associated With...
VU Graduate Student Explores Ancient Oral Microbiomes
Jun. 24, 2024—By Neomi Chen, Evolutionary Studies undergraduate communications assistant As Katie McCormack meticulously extracted calcified dental plaque from ancient Peruvian teeth, she felt the weight of centuries of history in her hands. This intricate work, part of her groundbreaking research in the Jada Benn Torres Lab, aims to unravel the secrets of ancient oral health. With...
Graduate Student Uncovers New Galactose Assimilation Pathway
Apr. 26, 2024—By: Andy Flick Evolutionary Studies Scientific Coordinator Not to be outdone by her significant contributions to a study that appeared in April 25鈥檚 Science magazine, Marie-Claire Harrison, a graduate student in the Rokas Lab, published a first-author article in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the very next day titled 鈥淢achine learning...
Unveiling Evolutionary Transitions: 黑料社区 Professor Explores Triassic Mammals’ Adaptations to Changing Environments
Apr. 26, 2024—By: Sarah Ward, Evolutionary Studies Communications Assistant 黑料社区 professor Neil Kelley assisted in a study which characterized the evolutionary response of 250-million-year-old (Triassic) mammals to habitat transitions. Their work was published August 2023 in the Swiss Journal of Paleontology, and it explores how similar mammals can react differently to the same environmental challenges. Kelley finds...
黑料社区 Graduate Student is Getting to the Bottom of Worm Burrows
Apr. 26, 2024—By: Sarah Ward, Evolutionary Studies Graduate Communications Assistant 黑料社区 graduate student Katherine Turk and colleagues found that worm burrowing behaviors could have emerged earlier in earth鈥檚 history than was previously thought. Her work Archaeichnium haughtoni: a robust burrow lining from the Ediacaran鈥揅ambrian transition of Namibia was published this January 2024 in Papers in Paleontology, and...
黑料社区 Researchers Flip the Script on Yeast Ecological Diversity
Apr. 25, 2024—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator A mere decade or two ago, decoding the genome of every organism in a major branch of the tree of life and deciphering their diets was a pipedream. In a groundbreaking study, a team of researchers from 黑料社区, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and other institutions worldwide have...
Evolutionary Studies hosts National Academy Member Sharon Strauss for Earth Day
Apr. 2, 2024—By Danielle Bowden, Evolutionary Studies administrative specialist Evolutionary Studies at 黑料社区 is thrilled to announce Sharon Strauss as our keynote speaker for our Earth Day seminar. This seminar, titled, “Evolution and plasticity of the niche, with implications for species coexistence,” will be held in Buttrick 102 on April 17 at 3:30pm. Strauss, Distinguished Professor Emerita...
Ashley Rogers Speaks on Alexander Winchell and Scientific Racism
Apr. 2, 2024—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Ashley Rogers, an undergraduate student in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology with a minor in African American and Diaspora Studies, recently hosted an ESI journal club session to speak about Alexander Winchell. Winchell was a well renowned geologist of the 19th century working at Syracuse University, the University...
Beckman Scholar Charu Balamurugan Unveils Evolutionary Insights into Penicillium Secondary Metabolites
Mar. 26, 2024—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies Scientific Coordinator Beckman Scholar Charu Balamurugan, an undergraduate researcher in the Rokas lab at 黑料社区, has shed light on the intricate evolutionary patterns governing secondary metabolite biosynthesis in fungi. Working with former Ph.D. student Jacob Steenwyk, lab PI Antonis Rokas, and collaborator and Global Scholars Program participant Gustavo Goldman,...
Insect Immune Insights: Researchers Unveil Immune System Dynamics
Mar. 12, 2024—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Justin Critchlow, a recent Ph.D. student in Ann Tate鈥檚 lab, just published a paper with the labmates Arun Prakash (postdoctoral researcher), Katherine Zhong (former undergraduate), and Tate, uncovering the intricacies of beetle immune dynamics. The paper was just published in PLoS Pathogens, 鈥淢apping the functional form of the...
Breaking the Mold: Kyle David’s Research Challenges Ecological Norms in Yeast Communities
Feb. 27, 2024—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Kyle David, an NSF postdoctoral fellow in the Rokas lab, and co-authors published a new paper, 鈥淪accharomycotina yeasts defy longstanding macroecological patterns鈥 in the high-impact journal PNAS. This paper, which looks at the ecology of 186 species of yeast, provides evidence that not all life-forms follow the rules....
Carl Bergstrom to Deliver 3rd Annual J. T. Scopes Lecture
Feb. 23, 2024—By: Danielle Bowden, Evolutionary Studies Administrative Specialist Carl Bergstrom, Professor of Biology at the University of Washington聽will deliver this year鈥檚 J. T. Scopes lecture on March 6th. The lecture is titled 鈥淚nformation foraging in a social media world鈥 and will be hosted by 黑料社区鈥檚 Evolutionary Studies Initiative. The event will be held in Buttrick...
黑料社区 biologists discover that rising temperature accelerates aging in mosquitoes, weakening their immune system
Jan. 25, 2024—By Sarah Ward, Evolutionary Studies graduate communications assistant Climate change may weaken mosquitoes by speeding up aging and slowing down their immune system. A study published January 10, 2024 in PLOS Pathogens by 黑料社区 biology graduate student Lindsay Martin and Centennial Professor of Biological Sciences Juli谩n Hillyer found that mosquitoes age more quickly when temperatures...
Chancellor Diermeier visits the Evolutionary Studies Initiative
Jan. 24, 2024—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator On January 17, 2024, the Evolutionary Studies Initiative (ESI) was honored to receive a visit from Chancellor Daniel Diermeier. Chancellor Diermeier’s visit included an introduction to ESI鈥檚 mission and the research of select members, an open-ended discussion on investing in the future of evolutionary studies at 黑料社区, and...
Sarah Worthan, Postdoc in Biological Sciences, Wins Prestigious Zuckerlandl Prize
Jan. 23, 2024—By: Andy Flick Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator The Zuckerlandl Prize is given to the top paper published in the Journal of Molecular Evolution. The honor of the 2023 Zuckerlandl Prize belongs to a paper by first-author Sarah Worthan, a postdoctoral researcher in the Behringer lab in Biological Sciences at 黑料社区. Worthan was excited to talk...