News & Events
Vanderbilt Anthropologist Discovers Lasting Effects from Disasters in Bangladesh
Jan. 26, 2023—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Monica Keith, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, recently co-authored a paper addressing severe climate events in Bangladesh and their lasting effects on human health outcomes. Working with Shodagor fishing families in Matlab, the team found that body mass decreased following the flood of 2017 and did not recover by...
Vanderbilt undergraduate compares nuclear and mitochondrial genomic evolution of the fungi Aspergillus section Flavi
Jan. 23, 2023—By Kelly Tingle, Evolutionary Studies communications assistant Former Vanderbilt University undergraduate student Miya Hugaboom provides insight into fungal mitochondrial genomic evolution in a paper she published recently as lead author, along with Biological Sciences graduate student Annie Hatmaker and Professor Antonis Rokas. The study focused on the mitochondrial genomes of 20 different Aspergillus species, a...
Richard Lenski, founder of the long-term evolution experiment, to deliver 2023 Darwin Day Lecture
Jan. 17, 2023—Richard Lenski, a world-renowned evolutionary biologist whose long-term evolution experiment of the microorganism Escherichia coli has been running for over three decades, will deliver the 2023 Darwin Day Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Lenski’s talk, part of Vanderbilt’s Evolutionary Studies Initiative International Darwin Day celebrations, will begin at 3:10pm CT in Buttrick 101, preceded by...
Local high schoolers find fossils on ESI-sponsored field trip
Dec. 13, 2022—By Kelly Tingle, Evolutionary Studies science communications assistant **This story has been edited to included information about the Collaborative for STEM Education and Outreach Local students from Stratford and Overton high schools got to excavate 70-million-year-old oysters, clams, and shrimp at the ESI Fossil Search, a field trip sponsored in November by Evolutionary Studies to...
Ogden lab discovers new interactions between viruses during dual infections
Dec. 7, 2022—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Kristen Ogden, an assistant professor in the Pediatrics and Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology departments, studies what happens when two viruses attack the same cell – also known as coinfection. In a recent study led by an alumnus of her lab, Tim Thoner, the team discovered that the time...
Vanderbilt Graduate Student Parses Out Differences in Virulence across the Aspergillus Genus
Dec. 5, 2022—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Annie Hatmaker, along with an excellent team of researchers including her advisor, Antonis Rokas, recently published a study identifying differences in virulence among Aspergillus species. Aspergillus is a common human-pathogenic genus of fungi that includes A. flavus which can cause aspergillosis and fungal keratitis infections, a nasty eye...
Fighting Misconceptions through Intentionally Designed Figures
Oct. 31, 2022—By: Andy Flick Evolutionary Studies Initiative scientific coordinator Associate professor of psychology and human development, Laura Novick, and graduate student Joanna (Jingyi) Liu, published a paper highlighting the importance of intentionally and thoughtfully designed figures to explain evolutionary relationships and overcome preconceived misconceptions. The work was inspired, in part, by a common misconception that was...
Statement from CSEO
Oct. 5, 2022—Please consider your laboratory’s interest and ability to host a high school student for a research internship. These academically motivated students have a demonstrated interest in STEM research and participate in the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV) and the Research Experience for High School Students (REHSS) programs. They will be matched with...
Q&A with Alumnus Sam Smith
Sep. 27, 2022—Sam Smith just finished his Ph.D. at Brown University in the lab of Sohini Ramachandran. He spent 2016-2017 as an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Antonis Rokas. He is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas, Austin, in the lab of Arbel Harpak. Sam took time for a Q&A – some responses...
New research avenues abound in evolutionary studies
Sep. 27, 2022—By Andy Flick Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator With the funding of seven pilot grant projects last year, there are numerous new research avenues across evolutionary studies. Check out the precursor to this story here. Arner experiences anthropological field research for the first time The sole graduate student recipient last year was Audrey Arner of Amanda...
Graduate student discovers earlier evidence for complex animal behaviors
Sep. 27, 2022—Graduate student in Earth and Environmental Sciences Kat Turk recently published a paper about life in the Ediacaran. Along with her advisor, assistant professor Simon Darroch, and colleagues at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, she found we might need to change when we believe some complex animal behaviors evolved. Predatory behavior may have arisen earlier...
Vanderbilt biologists discover genetic pathways linking the immune and circulatory systems of mosquitoes during infection
Sep. 7, 2022—Vanderbilt biologists have discovered the genetic pathways that link the immune and circulatory systems of mosquitoes during the fight against infection. A mosquito fighting infection of malaria or bacteria attracts immune cells to its heart that filter microbes that are flowing in its blood, called hemolymph. The discovery of two pathways that link immunity and...
Four awarded pilot grants from Evolutionary Studies
Aug. 16, 2022—By Andy Flick Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Evolutionary Studies at Vanderbilt selected four exciting, new proposals for pilot grants. Graduate students Samantha Schaffner (BSCI, Patel Lab), Taiye Winful (ANTHRO, Benn Torres Lab), and Katie McCormack (ANTHRO, Benn Torres Lab) have all been awarded funding, along with new professor in EES, Lin Meng who will be...
Associate professor Larisa DeSantis to give prestigious scientific talk in Ireland
Jul. 13, 2022—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Larisa DeSantis – associate professor of the biological sciences & Earth and environmental sciences departments – will be giving the Royal Irish Academy Discourse Lecture on Monday, July 18th at 2pm central time. The Royal Irish Academy is good company to keep – including famous evolutionist Charles Darwin....
Vanderbilt researchers bring paleoecology into the 21st century
Jul. 7, 2022—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Science is an inherently collaborative endeavor. When a respected colleague courteously disagrees with your point of view, it can lead to great new papers, perspectives and collaborations. In that same vein, feedback from editors and reviewers of academic journals is an often-understated driver of new research directions. Assistant...