I'm hiring a postdoc to work in theoretical / computational phylogenomics! More info at tinyurl.com/63hb5ew8. Please share!

Picture of a yard, a huge sycamore, and a hand holding a glass of Rhum Depaz 2002 in a Speciation Brewery glass

I now have a document called yard_species.csv and I can only share this information with other eco/evo people.

Pic for attention (shout-out Speciation Brewery)

I am really happy with this paper too. Was definitely something different from my usual work and I had a good time with the challenge and I think we did a good job!

I love this figure in our review of sawflies of eastern North America. Shout out to @flydrocarbon.bsky.social for leading the charge and the @catherinelinnen.bsky.social lab! Check out the paper in the @entsocamerica.bsky.social Journal of Integrated Pest Management: academic.oup.com/jipm/article...

I keep thinking about how I don't post/interact on here much anymore. I was trying to figure out why and I really think the simplest answer is that my first 2 quarters as a teaching professor have just been super busy!

I will try and do a post-mortem on my experience sometime soon!

Northwestern has not received any NIH funds since March. No written communication about why or what can be done. Thank you Ben Singer for raising awareness at #ATS2025

Take note:
Northwestern hasn't had any funds disbursed from NIH since March.

The research crisis isn't coming, it's already here.

Call your reps.

Tufts graduate student detained by federal authorities sent to Louisiana - The Boston Globe Masked plainclothes officers arrested Rumeysa Ozturk outside a Somerville home Tuesday evening.

The Tufts graduate student detained by federal authorities in Somerville has been sent to a Louisiana detention facility, despite a federal judge’s order telling US Immigration and Customs Enforcement not to remove her from Massachusetts without notice.

I am a new teaching prof with a lot on my plate rn....and all my problems seem so trivial in light of the broader attack on higher education and science in general.

Its so demotivating and scary

All I can do is focus on the students I have and making sure they learn something. Idk what else to do.

My name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your City, State]. I’m calling to express my deep concern about President Trump’s recent executive orders directing federal agencies to withhold congressionally appropriated funds. These actions appear to violate the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and undermine the Constitution’s separation of powers. I urge you to take all necessary steps to investigate these actions, ensure transparency, and demand the release of improperly withheld funds. Please stand up for Congress’s power of the purse and protect our democracy. Thank you for your time.

Here is a call script to urge your State Congress members to act against President Trump’s actions potentially violating the Impoundment Control Act:

Hello, [Representative/Senator’s Name],

Find your members of Congress using your address
www.congress.gov/members/find...

a man in a white shirt is sitting at a table with his hands folded and smiling . ALT: a man in a white shirt is sitting at a table with his hands folded and smiling .

Shout-out to that one student who makes faces when they are confused 🫤 surprised 😮 interested 🙂 think I'm funny 🤣 like my example 🥰.

and especially when they FINALLY understand something its taken a few lectures to sink in:

They make each lecture easier.
#pedagogy #professor #teachingevolution

Thanks Mike! I'm up the road if you need me 😅

If you are ready to advocate to your representatives (or friends and families) about the economic value of NIH funded research, you can check your state at www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...

I got to meet Todd Young, the Republican (tea party) Senator for Indiana once.

When I asked him to support increased NSF funding, he said "Of course, it's critical for helping our military stay ahead"

Hard-line Rs absolutely can and will support NIH/NSF if you advocate correctly.

Call them 👇

That's another level!! Love it.

Teaching an evolution course is having "baculum example" on a sticky note on your desk monitor for weeks before needing it, and without batting an eye once.

I'm always on the lookout for charismatic examples to discuss in class.

Shout-out to Speciation brewing for the apparel assist for my tree thinking lecture today.

Happy New Year Bluesky!

Question for people who have taught a 300 level Evolution course:

Anyone have good papers for further reading that are somewhat accessible for those newer to Evolutionary Biology and papers in general?

I want to inspire and encourage.

Thanks!

Thanks! Excited to get started

Thanks!

🧬🙏🪰🦟🪲🌿🌲🧬

(we need a phylo tree emoji)

This of course comes with some melancholy about leaving my research projects and ambitions.

But, I am already planning some summer research, and have sights set on course-based research in the future.

Happy to remain an academic in a place I want to work. Can be rare these days.

This marks a pivot for me away from research towards teaching.

I'm excited about the transition as I have a deep passion for students and the topics I'm teaching.

Expect more content about pedagogy in evolution and genetics!

Cheesy pic of me with a college T-shirt next to a pine tree on campus

I'm happy to announce I am the newest Assistant Professor of Instruction at Northwestern!!

I'm excited to be teaching about evolution, genetics, and more starting this winter!

They saw Gattaca and thought it was an awesome story about the heroism of the genetic overclass bsky.app/profile/thel...

Today is my last day as a postdoc.

It's been a wild 4.3 years.

...and yes I scrounged leftover department food on my last day.

Seriously how can I trust any of the other results in the paper when the authors did not consider that one of their main results fails all sanity checks?

How can I trust this journal if 2/5 reviewers caught something so clear?
The other 3 had very light comments...did they even read it?

...I am losing faith in the review process.

I reviewed a paper with some EGREGIOUS errors. A main result was that two of the insect species diverged 1.1 BILLION ya...in the Pre-cambrian. 0.5 MYA before trees.

Only 2 of 5 (!!!) rev. caught it (its a main fig)

Editor: Revise and resubmit. 🤦