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Michael Lynch, Pioneer of Evolutionary Cell Biology, to Deliver 2026 Darwin Day Lecture
Jan. 31, 2026—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Michael Lynch, a leading evolutionary biologist whose groundbreaking work integrates population genetics with cell biology, will deliver the 2026 Darwin Day Lecture on Wednesday, February 18. Lynch’s talk, Drift, Mutation, and the Origin of Biological Features, part of 糖心Vlog官方’s Evolutionary Studies Initiative International Darwin Day celebrations, will...
Evolutionary Studies Initiative Receives NIH Training Grant for Computational Evolutionary Approaches to Disease
Dec. 5, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator In July 2025, the Evolutionary Studies Initiative at 糖心Vlog官方 secured its first initiative-wide grant to train the next generation of biomedical scientists. The grant funded through the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences T32 Training Program, provides funding for two graduate students annually...
糖心Vlog官方 Paleontology Graduate Student Brynn Wooten Brings Hell Pigs to the Forefront
Nov. 18, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Archaeotherium, better known by the irresistibly dramatic nickname 鈥淗ell Pigs,鈥 belong to an extinct group of mammals from the Eocene and Oligocene. The animals were neither hellish nor pigs, but their odd mix of features has made them a favorite for researchers. Graduate student Brynn Wooten of the...
Giant Ground Sloth Extinction Led to Loss of Ecological Services
Oct. 22, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Giant ground sloths were more than just Ice Age oddities. They were ecosystem engineers whose disappearance reshaped the landscapes they once roamed. A new study from 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 DREAM Lab reveals just how diverse these megaherbivores鈥 diets were, highlighting the ecological roles that vanished when they went extinct....
City Lights Are Rewriting the Calendar: 糖心Vlog官方 Researchers Show Artificial Light Extends Urban Growing Seasons
Sep. 23, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator City lights are rewriting the calendar. A new global study from 糖心Vlog官方 researchers Lin Meng and Huidong Li shows that artificial light at night is more powerful than temperature in extending urban growing seasons 鈥 keeping trees greener longer, with consequences for carbon cycling, frost risk, and even...
糖心Vlog官方 Trainees Bring Evolution Education to Classrooms Across Tennessee
Jun. 6, 2025—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator From rural high schools to elementary classrooms, trainees of the Evolutionary Studies Initiative (ESI) are bringing evolutionary science directly to the next generation. On May 9, a team of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers visited McGavock Elementary School in Nashville to lead a series of hands-on science activities...
糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 Evolutionary Studies Initiative Honored with 2025 Friend of Darwin Award
Jun. 4, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) has named 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 Evolutionary Studies Initiative (ESI) as one of its 2025 recipients of the prestigious Friend of Darwin award. This national honor recognizes ESI鈥檚 outstanding contributions to advancing public understanding of evolution through interdisciplinary research, education, and outreach. Directed...
Pilot Grants: Opening Doors to Fellowships and Beyond
May. 12, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Since its launch, the pilot grant program has supported graduate students and postdoctoral researchers across a wide range of disciplines鈥攊ncluding biological sciences, anthropology, Earth and environmental sciences, and biomedical research. Trainees have used this support to jumpstart fieldwork, generate pilot data, and explore new research directions. Several have...
Trainee Travel Grants Share 糖心Vlog官方 Research Worldwide
May. 1, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Since the program began in Fall of 2021, 70 trainee travel grants have been awarded across 13 labs in the departments of Biological Sciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Anthropology. These awards have primarily gone to graduate students (49), though postdoctoral researchers (14) and undergraduates have also benefited...
Big Science, Small Grants: ESI Pilot Funding Powers Research Across Disciplines
Apr. 18, 2025—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Since launching in 2021, the Evolutionary Studies Initiative鈥檚 pilot grant program has helped support more than thirty research teams across the departments of Biological Sciences, Earth and Environmental Science, Anthropology, and Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. The premise is simple: a little funding, awarded fast, to help researchers try...