Evolutionary Studies at Vanderbilt

🎓 #Evolution education in action! ESI brought research to Tennessee students: elementary school science festivals, rural high school research programs, and Girl Scout badge workshops. Story: https://loom.ly/cACR5HY p.28-33

Just about two weeks until Biodiversity Day at the Adventure Science Center! Space is limited so reserve your spot today! 11/5 4:00pm - 6:00pm https://forms.gle/orp9Ntrg4RKF6i1k6

In honor of fall break - here's a video of about a year of phenocam photos from campus! Thanks Lin Meng for being a rockstar phenology researcher! :D #Evolution

Well, this was fun! Thanks to my co-organizers Antonis Rokas, Jordi van Gestel, Kat Coyte, and Gilles Fischer, and the whole team at EMBO in Heidelberg! And thanks to all the fantastic speakers, poster presenters and participants! This is my favourite meeting!

Last month, we had a great time at the @adventuresci.bsky.social for Fossil Quest!

We love teaching - and I'm not sure anyone embodies that more than Neil Kelley in the new museum studies course!

Marina Watowich (Lea Lab), along with international collaborators, recently published research in PLoS Genetics on genetic factors and environmental effects behind 'bad' cholesterol. Why do certain disease-causing genes stick around? Check it out on our homepage! #Evolution

Recently got some photos from SMBE (@official-smbe.bsky.social) 2026 in Copenhagen from our volunteer photographer - thought we'd share them with you!

Antonis Rokas has been named a fellow of the Mycological Society of America! Congratulations to our fearless leader!!! @rokaslab.bsky.social @vuartsci.bsky.social

The UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship program is accepting applications until November 1. If you're a finishing Ph.D student or recent grad interested in coming to Berkeley to work on a project in paleobiology/paleoecology/geobiology please feel free to reach out! ppfp.ucop.edu/info/

Nominations now open for the ASN/SSE/SSB IDEA Award! This award recognizes a person or group at any career stage who has strengthened the ecology and evolutionary biology community by promoting access and inclusion in our fields. Deadline: November 1. www.evolutionsociety.org/society-awar...

Postdoc position available in my group to work on ERC funded project on evolutionary biology of antibiotic resistance. Looking for someone with expertise in bacterial genetics, AMR, and evolutionary biology. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSZ416/p...

Applications are now open for the International Travel Stipends to attend the 2027 Evolution meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico! Funds cover registration, travel, meals, and lodging. Submit your application by November 1st! www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci... @evolmtg.bsky.social

Nearly three years ago, Chancellor Diermeier came to visit Evolutionary Studies. He met with faculty, staff, and students and toured the DeSantis DREAM Lab. It made for a fun day! Photos by Harrison McClary

New research! Katharine Walls of the DeSantis DREAM Lab found that springbok tooth-wear patterns can provide clues about their environment revealing how diet & habitat influence dental wear in both modern & Pleistocene springbok. See our press release online. @vuartsci.bsky.social #Evolution

This week! Come and support us! Show this flyer at the Nashville Panera across from campus from 4-8pm on Thursday. #Nashville

Next week Thursday (9/24) we'll be holding a fund raiser at Panera Bread on 21st Ave just off campus! Come on by with the flyer or use code FUND4U between 4pm and 8pm to support our cause! Evolution of gut microbiota, anyone?

Audrey Arner, Toby McCabe, Amanda Lea, & int'l team, developed improved process for communicating science w/ Indigenous comms. Press release on our site. Paper: Development & assessment of tailored illustrations to enhance community understandings of genetics topics @vuartsci.bsky.social

Last one from Tyrone - lots of froggy results! This one took a lot of editing to pack so much into 140 short seconds, sorry about any choppiness. There is so much information! #Evolution #SciComm #Frogs #Hormones

Today, we learn how a little frog from Kenya changed Tyrone's life. #Evolution #Hormones #SciComm

Do you see what Tyrone is building to in this clip? 🐸 🧪 #Evolution #Hormones #SciComm

Today, Tyrone shares his story on how he came to love frogs. 🐸 #ScopesLecture #SciComm #Evolution

This week, we are taking a break from our usual format to share some long overdue highlights of our March 2026 Scopes Lecture. If you find a few minutes every day - give them a listen. I'll let Megan Behringer give Tyrone B. Hayes a warm introduction!

In 2025, Eric Skaar was elected to the National Academy of Sciences! This is just one of a long list of awards - including the Pfizer Aspire Award, the Searle Scholars Award, the Postdoctoral Mentor of the Year from Vanderbilt University, and he is a Fellow in the ASM & AAAS.

Congratulations to Jada Benn Torres on recently being named a AAAS Fellow! Her groundbreaking work in genetic and biocultural anthropology continues to deepen our understanding of human history while centering community-engaged research. A well-deserved honor. 👏 #Evolution #Anthropology #AAAS

Big congrats to Larisa DeSantis named a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow! 🏆 Her research reconstructs the diets of extinct animals using dental microwear analysis, reading the wear patterns fossilized in ancient teeth. Well-deserved recognition for amazing work.

Wrapping up wine week 🍷 John Gibbons worked with our director Antonis Rokas years before ESI existed, studying domestication in Aspergillus oryzae (the soy sauce/sake mold). Now he runs his own lab at UMass studying the microbes behind sake, meju, pulque — and yes, beer & wine yeast too.

Congratulations to ESI alum @bryangitschlag.bsky.social, who is opening a lab this fall at the Univ. S. Carolina. Bryan's PhD at Vandy (Patel lab) characterized how "cheater" mitochondrial DNA persists in populations despite reducing host fitness. Bryan's now hiring!

A team led by Research Assistant Prof David Rinker has harnessed ML to tackle the tricky issue of drug resistance in fungi. They’ve figured out how to pinpoint the vulnerabilities in pathogens, helping predict which drugs may be effective. See more on our home page #Evolution

Evolution is easier to understand when you can hold it in your hands. Dr. Tiffiny Tung uses anatomical teaching models to help students explore human anatomy, biological variation, and the evidence anthropologists use to study our past. #Evolution Photo credit: John Russell

Dr. @joelmcglothlin.bsky.social got his start as an undergraduate with David McCauley. Today he's a Professor at Virginia Tech studying quantitative genetics and the #evolution of complex traits. He's also the Reviews Editor for Proc B. It's always fun to see where our alumni's careers take them!

So glad to see our visitor from the Scopes Symposium, @stevebrusatte.bsky.social was named a Friend of Darwin this year! Congrats Steve and all receiving the Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet this year!

🌍 We're excited to welcome back ESI alum Brandt Gibson (UT Martin) to this year's Evolutionary Studies Retreat! His research explores Earth's earliest animals and the environments that shaped the evolution of complex life. #Evolution

CRISPR may have started as a tool used by "jumping genes" to help themselves survive and spread through genomes. Research from Chance Meers explores the evolutionary origins of one of biology's most important molecular tools. #Evolution 🧬

Arctic and Antarctic fish live in waters cold enough to freeze blood. Many evolved special antifreeze proteins that prevent ice crystals from forming. The surprising part? These proteins evolved independently in different fish lineages on opposite ends of the planet! #Evolution

We've been sharing science all summer long: PEQG, GRCs, SSE, SMBE... so much Evolution. We're incredibly proud of the work by our trainees and grateful for the chance to connect with so many new colleagues, collaborators, and friends along the way. #Evolution

Did you know Vanderbilt once had its own Natural History Museum? Among its most impressive displays was a 23-foot plesiosaur cast bringing prehistoric life to campus. Today, we're working to preserve and share this fascinating history. #ThrowbackThursday #TBT #Evolution

After ~10 weeks of near-daily posting, we've crunched the numbers! Starting the week of July 20, our recurring content will be: BlueSky - ESI Life at VU Fridays New Research will continue to be posted across all channels, usually on Wednesdays. *Image generated in ChatGPT

🦥 Giant ground sloths weren't just Ice Age curiosities. Research from VU's DREAM Lab suggests different species filled unique ecological roles, from digging for underground foods to shaping vegetation. When they disappeared, ecosystems lost more than species. #Evolution

Nylon didn't exist before 1935, but some bacteria evolved enzymes capable of breaking down nylon manufacturing byproducts within just a few decades. A remarkable example of evolution responding to a completely new environment created by humans. #Evolution -- e.g., Okada et al. (1983)

About a year ago we were honored with the Friend of Darwin Award from the @ncse.bsky.social. The award recognizes contributions to evolution education and public understanding of science. Thank you to all the folks who helped make this possible. #Evolution #ScienceEducation

This #ThrowbackThursday we're highlighting James Merrill Safford, who helped establish Natural History and Geology at Vanderbilt, built scientific collections, and spent decades documenting Tennessee's geology and natural resources. A foundational figure in Vanderbilt science. 🪨 #Evolution

🐎 Horses evolved a genetic trick thought to exist only in viruses — and it may explain how they became the ultimate athletes. Research from the Castiglione Lab shows equids repurpose a genetic "stop" signal into a performance enhancer. Finding could help treat human diseases.

Our lab is looking to hire a RA to contribute to experimental evolution studies on anaerobic & aerotolerant bacteria! This is a great opportunity for recent grads looking to gain experience before perusing graduate training. Info at this link: ecsr.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

⚡ The #mitochondria in your cells were once free-living bacteria. ~2 billion years ago one got swallowed by a larger cell and never left. That ancient partnership is why complex life — including you — exists at all. #Endosymbiosis: one of #evolution's greatest plot twists.

We're here at the @official-smbe.bsky.social conference! Stop by and say hi

📢 The 2027 J.T. Scopes Lecture (3/10) speaker is Dr. C. Brandon Ogbunu — computational biologist, Yale professor, National Academies science communication award winner, and all-around force in evolutionary biology. Free and open to the public. #ScopesLecture #Evolution

🔭 #ThrowbackThursday: Edwin Reinke joined Vanderbilt in 1913, headed the Biology Department, and eventually built a field station in the North Carolina mountains. The Highlands Biological Station opened in 1929. It is still training scientists today. His name is on the library.

🐘 Elephant pregnancies: ~22 months. Mouse pregnancies: ~3 weeks. The difference is not just about being big. Research from Theo Danis & Antonis Rokas analyzed 845 mammal species and found gestation length is not just a body size story — it shapes and is shaped by many life history traits. #Evolution

What if air pollution is quietly shrinking the growing season? Former ESI postdoc Hao Yin (Lin Meng Lab) and colleagues found that ground-level ozone can delay spring growth, accelerate autumn decline, and reduce plant productivity across large regions. #Evolution

🐟 Did you know sometimes #evolution hits the "undo" button? Mexican blind cavefish have lost their eyes from living in pitch-black caves. But when populations are mixed, offspring can grow functional eyes again! Eye genes are still there, just on mute! 🦎 #Cavefish