RokasLab

A decade or two ago we could only dream of having genomes for all species of a major branch of the tree of life. Thanks to the Y1000+ Project, the dream is now reality! Kudos to @HittingerLab @DOpulente @Lab_LaBella @MarizethGroene1 & the whole TEAM science.org/doi/abs/10.112…

Took much longer than it should have, but we've finally made the jump. Please follow us there! bsky.app/profile/rokasl…

Did you miss the conversation on evolution with @RichardDawkins & @DavidAFrench? The @VanderbiltU has got you covered! youtube.com/watch?v=BF7-d4… Also, check our website for Scopes events, including one featuring a Star Trek: The Next Generation star! vanderbilt.edu/dialogue-vande…

A primer on subfunctionalization. A commentary article by James Birchler in #G3journal helps make an informed decision about subfunctionalization occurring with a duplicate gene pair and what caution should be exercised in concluding when they occur. buff.ly/4jkKaNf

We kicked off our public Scopes Centennial programming at @VanderbiltU with a thought-provoking conversation between @RichardDawkins and @DavidAFrench! You can find more great events here: bit.ly/4hByX9h

In opening remarks at @DialogueVU's Darwin Day Lecture, Chancellor Diermeier welcomed renowned evolutionary biologist @RichardDawkins and Open Dialogue Visiting Fellow David French of the @NYTimes for a thought-provoking discussion at the crossroads of science and philosophy.

We've just hit a Project Steve milestone on this fine Darwin Day! Steven A. Wernke, Professor of Anthropology at @VanderbiltU makes Steve #1500! ncse.ngo/project-steve-… #projectsteve #darwinday2025

In honor of #SuperBowl Sunday, we bring you ""Coach Scopes"" - about John T. Scopes's little-known life as a football coach. ncse.ngo/coach-scopes #ScopesSunday #ScopesTrial #History

I’ll share a positive. We had a great lab lunch this week. I am super proud of my team for their scholarship, dedication, collaborative spirit, and coming together to form a family. I’m very fortunate to lead this team! ⁦@VanderbiltU⁩ ⁦@vuartsci⁩ ⁦@EvolutionVU⁩

This sounds like a neat conference! isemph.org/ISEMPH-2025/ #evolution #medicine @ISEMPH

Will this be the best ISEMPH ever? Nashville, Tennessee is calling for #EvMed! The tenth anniversary of the best conference for researchers and clinicians to meet and find the cutting edge. Abstract deadline Feb 3! buff.ly/40zGJLx @EvolutionVU

Had a wonderful time at the first Scopes Festival event - American Religious Landscape During the Scopes Trial! Drs. @JamesPByrd & Hudnut-Beumler gave great recaps of prevailing religious thoughts of the early 1900s. @DialogueVU. #Evolution #Fundamentalism

The Evolutionary Studies Initiative of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, will be hosting ISEMPH 2025! We are very excited to see you all in such a unique location! Details here: buff.ly/40zGJLx @EvolutionVU

Looking for fun in a nice place for next summer? Then, join us at the Yeast 2025 meeting! Save the date: 21-24 July 2025 Registration and abstract submission are now open!

I have no words. My sister lost her house to the SoCal fire, leaving her family of four with a handful of suitcases and no home. If you are feeling particularly generous, please consider this gofundme gofund.me/3752eb40

We had a great ESI retreat last week Thursday at @FatBottomBrews! #TBT We heard talks from Martha Munoz, @AmyAGoldberg, and @caitismuheil and had lightning talks from many folks in our group! Ended with trivia from @NerdyTalkTrivia

NEW preprint!🥳 Orthogroups are a prerequisite for comparative genomics and Tree of Life inquiries Introducing #OrthoHMM, software that improves orthogroup inference, which may refine our understanding of genome evolution and the Tree of Life 🔗 tinyurl.com/4s9mwxz6

Come be our colleague! @UMassfoodsci and @UMassIALS are co-hiring an Assistant professor for Foods for Precision Nutrition. 🍲 🥘 Questions? Ask away! Please share widely and retweet. careers.umass.edu/en-us/job/5254…

We are excited about next summer! Along with #ScopesSymposium, we're hosting #ISEMPH2025. We are so grateful for folks like @PaulTurnerLab, Nicole Bender & Michelle Blythe. We hope you'll join us in Nashville. Registration sites will be live soon! @ISEMPH

We're looking for a predoc in molecular evolution. Basic computational skills desired. Minimum 1 year. Send me DM. Wanna know what a predoc is? Check👇

Pleiotropy has long been assumed to hinder adaptation. @EvolSys explores a #PLOSBiology study that instead suggests that regulatory networks may evolve to ensure mutations are beneficial in correlated environments. Primer: plos.io/4fby0D8 Paper: plos.io/4glXoXJ