I am an evolutionary and marine biologist interested in how new structures and functions originate during evolution. Eyes, vision; photophores, bioluminescence. Macroevolution. Phylogenetics. Molecular Evolution. Integrative and Comparative Biology.
Hey Philadelphia!! Do you want this mural on your building?? Here’s what we’re looking for: You must own the building. Must be in Philly The flatter the surface the better! The more people that will see it the better. We want to install in September Email me if that's you SkypeAScientist@gmail.com
New preprints! 1/3 Spider venom glands are modified salivary glands which have recruited appendage and myogenic programs from other the developmental programs of other organs. Led by Giulia Zancolli, with @yehumoran.bsky.social doi.org/10.64898/202...
EEB Mentor Match is now open! But apps due soon (8/17). Mentees: get help applying for grad school or fellowships in ecology & evolution. Mentors: senior grads, post-docs, or faculty in these fields willing to give advice Org by Diversity Cmte of @asn-amnat.bsky.social Pls share! eebmentormatch.com
EEB Mentor MatchVisit the post for more.eebmentormatch.com
Berger et al. (2026-07, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Adaptive molecular convergence is pervasive across deep time and largely decoupled from phenotypic convergence doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
McDermott et al. (2026-07, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences) 「動物における対称性の進化に対する形態系統学的アプローチ」 A morphological phylogenetic approach to the evolution of symmetry in animals doi.org/10.1098/rspb... うおおおおおおお！！！！！
Adaptive molecular convergence is pervasive across deep time and largely decoupled from phenotypic convergence https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42520128/
UC Davis Ecology & Evolution Grad Preview Program is accepting applications until July 20th! It's a fully virtual program where you are paired with a grad student mentor and learn about what grad school entails, how to apply, and what student life is like! Please share widely!
Really excited to share that my first PhD chapter is now out in @currentbiology.bsky.social! 🕷️👀 We show that visually hunting spiders have repeatedly evolved forward-facing eyes, highlighting the remarkable evolutionary flexibility of their modular visual system. doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
Hunting ecology predicts eye arrangements in the modular visual system of spidersPande et al. show that visually hunting spiders have convergently evolved forward-facing
eyes. The positions and orientations of the eyes show the greatest morphological disparity
and fastest evolutio...www.cell.com
In quick succession, a fun behavior project with data collected by co-authors before I even knew what an ostracod was! Also happy for another paper with JG Morin, who discovered these ostracods in 1979. Good to have a citation for how these lil shrimp with big lights actually defend themselves
Bioluminescence Giant SquidALT: Bioluminescence Giant Squidstatic.klipy.com
First postdoc paper and first Nematostella project! By using the dynamic expression pattern of minicollagens, we describe the transcriptional profile during biogenesis for two major stinging cell types: nematocytes and spirocytes www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #StunningStella
Minicollagen expression dynamics reveal a transcriptional program for cnidogenesis in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensisCnidae are explosive harpoon-like organelles localized within stinging cells, or cnidocytes, of the phylum Cnidaria (jellyfish, hydroids, sea anemones, and corals). These unique Golgi-derived vesicula...www.biorxiv.org
Seth Frazer & @ostratodd.bsky.social advance ML modeling of the opsin genotype–phenotype map, introducing the Opsin Phenotype Tool for Inference of Color Sensitivity platform, and present the Mine-N-Match (MNM) pipeline. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag138 #evobio #molbio
I am recruiting Ph.D. students this cycle. Students interested in deep-sea fishes and phylogenetic comparative methods are an especially good fit.
Interested in #macroevolution, #macroecology, and mountain biodiversity? I'm recruiting a #postdoc for an NSF-funded project at Yale, in collaboration with Martha Muñoz (Yale) and Maya Stokes (Florida State University). I'll be at #Evol2026 and happy to chat! Link below
#SMBE2026 S02: Powers and pitfalls of artificial intelligence for molecular evolution and phylogenetics 🗓️ Mon Jun 29, 10:20am 🔗 smbe2026.org/programme
Muñoz-Mérida & Muñoz-Pajares introduce the concept of the pan-functionome — the full set of protein functions encoded by the proteome of individuals belonging to a taxonomic group — and explore its evolutionary implications. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag121 #evobio #molbio
I’m obliged to pass on our study of light spectrum 🌈 variation in fireflies onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... by former PhD student Margot Popecki 😊
The Role of Pigments in Light Color Variation of the Firefly Photinus pyralisWe tested the novel hypothesis that genes encoding enzymes and transporters in pigment pathways (“pigment genes”) produce pigments in the firefly light organ that filter bioluminescent light, tuning ...onlinelibrary.wiley.com
We @lowelab.bsky.social had a blast hosting @ostratodd.bsky.social at the Hopkins Marine Station! A fantastic day talking all things bioluminescence, ostracods, chitons, repeatability, contigency, phylogeny, courtship, mentoring, surfing, baseball, brewing and all The first of many visits I hope!
Now accepting applications for our 2027 Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution! These awards support students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs to conduct #ecology and #evolution research. Deadline is June 30, 2026: bit.ly/4umYKZd #science
Applications for 2027 Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution Now OpenThe Simons Foundation’s Life Sciences division is now accepting applications for its 2027 Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution.bit.ly
New preprint from the group on the evolution of retinal cell types. Check the summary by Dario @dariotommasini.bsky.social !
Dario TommasiniInhibitory neurons are among the most transcriptomically diverse class of neurons in the CNS, with some brain regions having 60+ distinct cell types. Do humans share the same repertoire as rodents? Birds? Fish? 1/13
My group at Science has been running a big campaign to engineer new channelrhodopsins. Excited to share the first results from it today: a suite of highly sensitive new opsins. We call them "WAChRs". Everyday indoor office lighting is enough to activate them pretty strongly.