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Cohen Innovation Fund Supporting Two High-Risk, High-Reward Projects
Nov. 5, 2021—By Aaron Conley Houra Merrikh, professor of biochemistry, and Teru Nakagawa, associate professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, have both been selected to receive one-year research awards from the Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund. The awards will support groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting research, including Merrikh’s study of the molecular drivers of evolution that enables cancer to develop resistance to...
Darwin’s Magnificient Mystery and the Microbiome
Nov. 4, 2021—Darwin’s On the Origin of Species put forth a seminal and revolutionary thesis for the life sciences in 1859: Populations with a common ancestor evolve over time with enough change to become different species that no longer successfully interbreed. This process of descent with modification continues over time to produce lineages of new species. Darwin famously referred to the process of one species becoming two...
Statement from @EvolutionVU Against Racism, discrimination, and injustice
Jun. 7, 2020—During a time wrought with economic, social, and health crises, we wish to reaffirm some of the core values that guide the actions of the Evolutionary Studies Initiative at Vanderbilt University. Our core values include trust, respect, compassion, and understanding. We commit to continuing to espouse these values. As a result, we do not tolerate...
Vanderbilt lab develops app for analyzing crowd-sourced songbird recordings
Jun. 2, 2020—Amateur birders and citizen scientists will soon have a novel way to contribute to groundbreaking research. With a new app, created and shared by the team at laboratory of Nicole Creanza, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences and @EvolutionVU member, researchers can better leverage crowdsourced fieldwork and audio recordings from bird enthusiasts to accelerate the progress...
High standards of female songbirds could be driving their mates to evolve
Sep. 8, 2019—Hearing longer love songs from songbirds in your backyard? Chalk it up to sexual preference – and high standards. New research on songbirds from graduate students Cristina Robinson and Kate Snyder in the lab of Nicole Creanza, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences and Evolution@Vanderbilt member, suggests that females, who are choosing males with the most...
Rokas to lead budding cross-disciplinary collaboration on evolutionary studies
Aug. 15, 2019—The Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative is now official! The Initiative seeks to position the university as a global leader in evolutionary studies by engaging a large group of scholars who share this research-based interest. The program will also provide students and the community multiple opportunities to learn about the role of evolutionary principles and approaches...