Dr. Emily Kopania’s article featured as this month’s Editor’s Choice at Evolution!
Sperm competition intensity shapes divergence in both sperm morphology and reproductive genes across murine rodents
October 2024

Dr.  Jered Stratton joins as Lab Manager. Jered has a background in evolutionary and behavioral genetics, and will work on zebrafish genetics and vision.
June 2024

Courtney Charlesworth joins as PhD student, working on identifying new ocular genes.
April 2024

Dwon Jordana presents at ABRCMS
November 2024

Dr. Allie Graham is now Professor Allie Graham!
Her lab is opening in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Kansas
August 2024

Jordan Little presents at Cold Spring Harbor: Systems Biology
2022

Amanda Kowalczyk is awarded the Most Well-Rounded Student of the year!
November 6, 2020

In an honor extended by the University of Pittsburgh’s Biomedical Graduate Student Association, Amanda was named as this year’s most well-rounded student. In Amanda’s acceptance speech, she asks us all to do 1 hour of scientific outreach a month. All together this would make a huge impact in building trust of science in the public.

Jaret Lieberth joins as Lab Technician
August 4, 2020

Jaret joins us from the University of Mississippi where he worked on zebrafish development among other projects. We’re excited to welcome him to the lab and to Salt Lake City!

Amanda Kowalczyk receives the CEBAM Catalyst Award
July 9, 2020

Amanda Kowalczyk was awarded a competitive Catalyst Award from the Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine (CEBaM). She will use the award to advance her studies in the genetic underpinnings of convergently evolved long lifespan as well as hairlessness in mammals. Amanda is currently in her fifth year of the Joint Carnegie Mellon-University of Pittsburgh…

Sarah Lucas joins the lab as Human Genetics PhD student
May 5, 2020

We welcome Sarah as our first Human Genetic PhD student. Sarah successfully completed her Capstone Exam in Spring and started working full time in the lab this summer. This year she plans to complete her project on gene expression in diving mammals and launch her studies of ocular regulatory evolution in subterranean mammals.

Raghav Partha wins Steven L. Phillips Scientific Achievement Award.
Oct 2018

Wynn Meyer et al. publish in Science
August 21, 2018

Ancient convergent losses of Paraoxonase 1 yield potential risks for modern marine mammals Featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, Le Monde, and 30 other publications around the world.

Melissa Plakke Receives Mellon Fellowship
March 1, 2018

Melissa Plakke, PhD Candidate in the lab, has been awarded the Mellon Fellowship for next academic year. She also won a Presentation Award at the Pitt Grad Expo. Way to go, Melissa!

Jerrica selected for Mentor-Mentee Summer Program
March 1, 2018

Long-time lab undergraduate, Jerrica Jamison, was selected for this competitive summer program, during which she will continue her research in seals, sea lions, and other pinnipeds.

Convergent Evolution in Subterranean Mammals
October 13, 2017

Moles and mole-rats experienced similar changes to their genomes underground. In this eLife publication by Raghav Partha and colleagues, we identify new ocular genes and eye-specific regulatory sequences.