Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

Hopi Hoekstra has been selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator. Through its flagship Investigator Program, HHMI helps to advance biomedical research and science education in the United States. This prestigeous honor provides the flexible support necessary to move an investigator's research in creative new directions over time and encourages risk taking. This appointment is a testament to the strength of Hoekstra's research and her lab's commitment to collaborative, innovative science. Read press release and story.

Arkhat Abzhanov has been named the 2013-2014 Grass Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. His research project is entitled "Evolution of the Animal Face: From Principles to Mechanisms." Radcliffe Institute fellows are accomplished individuals in an array of fields who pursue independent projects within a rich, multidisciplinary environment.

Work from the Extavour Lab shows that mechanisms used to make embryonic germ cells in mammals and insects are more similar than previously thought. Read the original article in Current Biology.

A paper by Charles Davis and others on record breaking early spring flowering in the eastern United States was published in January 2013 and has been featured in The New York Times and on National Public Radio.

A study by Chris Marx published in Genetics has shown that beneficial mutations must be timed within a limited window of opportunity to become successful. Read more in The Harvard Gazette, Mar. 19, 2013.