Andy Lee, PhD

new profile pic just dropped because i started a new job!!!! i’m a postdoc fellow at the USDA-ARS facility in Hilo, HI. although i am finally not land-locked in indiana, my research focus will be shifting from marine species to tephritid fruit flies — i will be hitting the beach though

I made a quick plot of the data from ecoevojobs.net over the last four years. 2026 faculty job postings are way down compared to previous years.

We at Skype a Scientist are deeply troubled by the closure of the Academy of Natural Sciences. We urge you to contact Drexel University Leadership and Academy interim leader Trish Wellenbach to urge them to reopen the museum. President Merlo president@Drexel.edu Trish Wellenbach tw958@drexel.edu

I'm hiring a postdoc to help build tools for inferring complex speciation histories with genomic data. strong computational skills are a must, but this is a training opportunity. 60K$+ salary, 2 years, details flexible. please reach out! (and repost) ad here: jobs.montana.edu/postings/53150

got a review today that’s basically like “this paper isn’t useful because i can just ask AI” 🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠

woah!! am i… an award winning scientist?????

Check out Andy Lee's award winning work: Genetic adaptation despite high gene flow in a range-expanding population (buff.ly/hyynGdL). (2/2)

Congratulations to Andy Lee @andylee.bsky.social, winner of the 2026 Harry Smith Prize for his work on the genetic basis of adaptation in a range-expanding marine species with high dispersal. Andy recently defended his PhD at Purdue University. Read More: buff.ly/w8GY8u1 (1/2)

I put a call out for mural walls yesterday and I got a lot of VERY good walls for projects of a variety of scales. Unfortunately I have only sold enough shirts this summer to cover 2 of those walls. This means more people need to buy shirts. Thems the breaks. More shirts more art. SquidFacts.Net

Defining sex based on gamete size is a choice. Perhaps it's the most parsimonious of all binary single-criterion sex definitions. But to claim that gamete size is the "ultimate defining criterion of biological sex" (whatever that means) falls into the naturalistic fallacy the authors warn of.

Really worth a read, and I very much appreciate the closing thoughts in the article. "Most importantly, regardless of scientific debates, no biological definition of sex should be used to dictate human rights."

My coauthor Jay Falk's postdoctoral fellowship was terminated by the Trump administration for documenting the hummingbird example in this paper.

In our Viewpoint (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...) we synthesize the gametic definition (outlined by Janicke et al below) and other definitions of sex (e.g., multivariate definition). We contend that is NO consensus on “biological sex” (maybe a consensus isn’t actually necessary…)

today seems like a good day to repost our Viewpoint!!

✨🌈💡kicking off pride month by sharing our new article on using queer perspectives to improve practice in #ecology and #evolution. Bobby Dellinger presented a stellar overview of our work last month at the UCLA Thinking Gender 2026 conference, which you can watch here! #PrideInSTEM 🧪

I am super excited to meet up with a preschool class for @skypeascientist.bsky.social today!! Not sure what that probabilities are (I am guessing low), but I just found out that out of the thousands of possible pairings, I get to visit my sister's classroom thousands of miles away!!

Surprised to learn scientists can't agree on a definition of sex? Don't be! To be honest, we can't even agree on a definition of species. Many so-called natural categories are hard to define once we look at the evidence. Biology is too complex for simple definitions, which is a feature, not a bug.

"The fact that there is no current consensus of biological sex is not antithetical to science... However, the field urgently needs an ethical and reproducible approach for discussing sex" There is No Consensus on Biological Sex

You don't only have to look up to be in awe of the moon(fish)! www.kpbs.org/news/2015/05...

new paper from my phd is now out as a pre-print @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social!! we leverage a novel gt-seq panel to investigate a marine ecology “black box” — population connectivity! read here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

📣 A perspective with @allydefduf.bsky.social @madeline-eppley.bsky.social and others out in @ecol-evol.bsky.social 📣 Drawing from queer lived experiences, we offer new perspectives to confront existing biases in #ecology and #evolution. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

hit a little scientific milestone today: 50 citations!!!!! sometimes I am still in shock that I am living my childhood dream and get to be a ~scientist~

📣 A perspective with @allydefduf.bsky.social @madeline-eppley.bsky.social and others out in @ecol-evol.bsky.social 📣 Drawing from queer lived experiences, we offer new perspectives to confront existing biases in #ecology and #evolution. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Regional connectivity and viability selection in a range-expanding marine species https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.28.714283v1

On this Trans Day of Visibility, please enjoy & learn something from this fascinating & clarifying read from @madeline-eppley.bsky.social, @andylee.bsky.social, Robert Dellinger & @allydefduf.bsky.social Read👉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... (🙏 for this excellent work & actionable recs!)

I defended my PhD 10 years ago today. That was the least remarkable thing that happened that day. Sharing something I wrote about it last year. Since then "the horrors persist but so do we." And with dignity.

Always enjoy reading a dissertation - I try to give it time and respect. We are all so rushed, but somebody worked their f**king ass off for this, and I'm so pleased for the person defending their work this week. So, diving in ahead of time.

What is the relationship between science and society? How does culture impact the production and dissemination of knowledge? In this new paper, Eppley et al interrogate how systems of oppression bias our research, and how Queer perspectives can address these. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Fantastic paper! I was coincidentally thinking earlier today about how we sex baby juncos (genetic) and juveniles (wing size) and what the error rates are. I thought "at least we can tell for reproductive adults", but this paper reminded me that it's possible we're getting some of those wrong too.

ICYMI: in our new paper, we contend there is "no current consensus on a definition of sex that is free of assumptions and limitations... and most importantly,...no biological definition of sex should be used to dictate human rights" #evolsky #LGBTQSTEM #ecology #evolution #biologicalsex

I am still actively looking for postdoc positions — please lmk if you (or your friends and colleagues) need a hardworking postdoc with field, lab, and bioinformatic skills! I am broadly interested in evolution in the ocean, conservation and population genetics, and rapid evolution.

New paper out in ecology letters! with @andylee.bsky.social @allydefduf.bsky.social We synthesized the active debate on how scientists define sex, including limitations and assumptions. We believe this discussion will lead to more accurate science. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Very proud of this perspective that came out of some really interesting and difficult conversations with friends and colleagues! TLDR: how do scientists define sex? why does it matter?? #EcoEvo #Ecology #Evolution 🧪

Eppley et al (2026) "We believe that acknowledging limitations and assumptions of current definitions of sex will lead to more accurate science." 🧪

Very proud of this perspective that came out of some really interesting and difficult conversations with friends and colleagues! TLDR: how do scientists define sex? why does it matter?? #EcoEvo #Ecology #Evolution 🧪

V. important perspective piece by @madeline-eppley.bsky.social & @andylee.bsky.social on biological sex and why a lack of scientific consensus should not be used to dictate human rights doi.org/10.1111/ele.... 🧪

Hey all @shaykeretz.bsky.social is a wonderful freshwater bivalve-focused colleague and she is managing a great new project partnering USFS with UGA, led by Dr Rachel Toczydlowski!

Did you know that the bees that need saving are NOT honeybees? Honeybees are the dairy cows of bees. People brought them over from Europe to make us honey. The problem with honeybees, esp in resource-limited ecosystems (like hey! cities!) is that they compete with our native bees for food.

New WISE Lab Paper! The concept of cultural keystone species, revisited through the eyes of Indigenous Peoples