Come join the Spatial Ecology and Paleontology Lab every Friday for Fossil Fridays!
Become a fossil hunter and help discover how vertebrate communities have changed through time. Experience firsthand what it is like to be a paleontologist, finding and identifying new specimens!
You will be picking and sorting 3,000 to 30,000-year-old fossil specimens from rock matrix that has been brought back from Natural Trap Cave, WY. These specimens are part of many research projects examining how the community of species living around Natural Trap Cave has changed since the extinction of the cheetahs, lions, dire wolves, mammoths, camels, horses, and other megafauna that used to live in North America.
You are welcome to participate anytime that is convenient, with no commitment necessary. In fact, you can drop in or leave anytime within the two-hour timeframe. All are welcome, so bring your friends!
For more information join the mailing list and/or contact Katie Slenker (kslenker3@gatech.edu) or Jenny McGuire (jmcguire@gatech.edu).
* No T. rex actually helped with the excavations of Natural Trap Cave as their arms would be much too small.
Event Details
Come join the Spatial Ecology and Paleontology Lab every Friday for Fossil Fridays!
Become a fossil hunter and help discover how vertebrate communities have changed through time. Experience firsthand what it is like to be a paleontologist, finding and identifying new specimens!
You will be picking and sorting 3,000 to 30,000-year-old fossil specimens from rock matrix that has been brought back from Natural Trap Cave, WY. These specimens are part of many research projects examining how the community of species living around Natural Trap Cave has changed since the extinction of the cheetahs, lions, dire wolves, mammoths, camels, horses, and other megafauna that used to live in North America.
You are welcome to participate anytime that is convenient, with no commitment necessary. In fact, you can drop in or leave anytime within the two-hour timeframe. All are welcome, so bring your friends!
For more information join the mailing list and/or contact Katie Slenker (kslenker3@gatech.edu) or Jenny McGuire (jmcguire@gatech.edu).
* No T. rex actually helped with the excavations of Natural Trap Cave as their arms would be much too small.
Event Details
Come join the Spatial Ecology and Paleontology Lab every Friday for Fossil Fridays!
Become a fossil hunter and help discover how vertebrate communities have changed through time. Experience firsthand what it is like to be a paleontologist, finding and identifying new specimens!
You will be picking and sorting 3,000 to 30,000-year-old fossil specimens from rock matrix that has been brought back from Natural Trap Cave, WY. These specimens are part of many research projects examining how the community of species living around Natural Trap Cave has changed since the extinction of the cheetahs, lions, dire wolves, mammoths, camels, horses, and other megafauna that used to live in North America.
You are welcome to participate anytime that is convenient, with no commitment necessary. In fact, you can drop in or leave anytime within the two-hour timeframe. All are welcome, so bring your friends!
For more information join the mailing list and/or contact Katie Slenker (kslenker3@gatech.edu) or Jenny McGuire (jmcguire@gatech.edu).
* No T. rex actually helped with the excavations of Natural Trap Cave as their arms would be much too small.
Event Details
Come join the Spatial Ecology and Paleontology Lab every Friday for Fossil Fridays!
Become a fossil hunter and help discover how vertebrate communities have changed through time. Experience firsthand what it is like to be a paleontologist, finding and identifying new specimens!
You will be picking and sorting 3,000 to 30,000-year-old fossil specimens from rock matrix that has been brought back from Natural Trap Cave, WY. These specimens are part of many research projects examining how the community of species living around Natural Trap Cave has changed since the extinction of the cheetahs, lions, dire wolves, mammoths, camels, horses, and other megafauna that used to live in North America.
You are welcome to participate anytime that is convenient, with no commitment necessary. In fact, you can drop in or leave anytime within the two-hour timeframe. All are welcome, so bring your friends!
For more information join the mailing list and/or contact Katie Slenker (kslenker3@gatech.edu) or Jenny McGuire (jmcguire@gatech.edu).
* No T. rex actually helped with the excavations of Natural Trap Cave as their arms would be much too small.
Event Details
Join us for a talk by Christopher Jernigan, a research associate at Cornell University and prospective faculty candidate in integrative physiology.
There is no virtual option for this event.
Abstract: Like humans and other primates, faces are special visual objects for the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus. These wasps possess individually distinctive color patterns on their face, which they can use to visually recognize and discriminate nestmates. To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying this ability, and compare this to what is known in primate systems I presented a large set of visual stimuli, while recording extracellular activity across the brain. I ask (1) if there are neural responses that are selective to conspecific wasp images, (2) where they are located, and (3) what the tuning features of neurons with highly selective responses to conspecific wasp images are. We find broad selectivity to forward-facing wasp shapes (i.e., silhouettes) across the brain, including the optic lobe. We also find highly localized neural responses in the wasp protocerebrum selective to full images of forward-facing wasps, which have color patterns. We term these forward-facing wasp units, wasp cells. Wasp cells show idiosyncratic facial tuning, tending to prefer a subset of faces or specific facial features in our dataset. Collectively this population of wasp cells exhibited a specific location both within and across animals. Together, these cells show similar responses to more similar facial patterns such that at the population response level neural distance among faces is correlated with phenotypic facial distance, suggesting a population level encoding of facial identity by wasp cells. Despite having independently evolved vision let alone facial recognition, wasp cells show remarkable parallels to the face cells found in primates, suggesting that dedicated circuits with idiosyncratic feature tuning may be critical features of visual identity recognition. Further, this system now provides a key opportunity to study how these tuning features emerge through development and how social experience may shape the key axes of these tuning properties.
Event Details
The Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society (INNS) at Georgia Tech has initiated an internal search for its inaugural executive director. This new Interdisciplinary Research Institute (IRI) will build upon the foundation laid by the Neuro Next Initiative, fostering cutting-edge research and innovation at the intersection of neuroscience, neurotechnology, and societal impact.
At the newly established IRI, the executive director will profoundly shape a unifying vision for neuroscience research and innovation at Georgia Tech, integrating various disciplines and fostering collaboration across campus. They will translate research into practical applications, engage students, and connect them to industry networks. The ideal candidate will have a visionary, innovative, and entrepreneurial leadership style, with experience in leading large-scale, interdisciplinary research initiatives, securing external funding, and promoting large-scale initiatives both internally and externally.
INNS aims to advance our understanding of the brain and nervous system, develop transformative technologies, and address critical societal challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration and engagement. INNS is dedicated to advancing innovative research and educational programs in neuroscience, neurotechnology, and society; fostering a broad and engaged community; and empowering society through public engagement and responsible technology deployment.
Click here to learn more about this position and how to apply.
Five years after the headline-grabbing “murder hornet” (Vespa mandarinia, renamed the northern giant hornet in 2022) was first spotted in Washington state, the U.S. has declared the invasive species eradicated.
The Washington State Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture made the announcement Wednesday. It follows three years without a confirmed detection of the hornet. Four nests were destroyed in 2020 and 2021.
While the number of nests was low, Professor Mike Goodisman, whose lab studies social insects and invasive species, explains that had the number grown, eradication would have been increasingly unlikely due to the potential exponential growth of the population.
"Each nest is started by a new queen. One new queen can start a new nest, but the colony she produces can produce 100 new nests. Because of how they reproduce, it could grow from 100 to 10,000 the year after that, and then from 10,000 to one million."
Goodisman says that social insects are more difficult to eradicate. However, traps and tracking methods allowed officials to contain the population in the Pacific Northwest. While the murder hornet is not the only invasive hornet species in North America, its threat to the already-declining honeybee population spurred action. Murder hornets can clear out a honeybee hive in 90 minutes, and Goodisman says the brutality of these attacks earned the northern giant hornet their nickname and is instantly recognizable.
"When murder hornets attack a honeybee colony, you'll find hundreds to thousands of decapitated honeybees," he said, adding that although murder hornets eat a variety of insects, they "have a taste for honeybees."
In the murder hornet's native Asia, the honeybee population has developed a defense mechanism to swarm and surround the attacking hornet, but North American honeybees are defenseless. This elevates the threat of a possible invasion, with the potential for a widespread impact on our food supply.
"A threat to the honeybee population would be a commercial disaster," Goodisman said. "Honeybees are critical in agriculture for pollinating a great variety of the foods we eat, and if we don't have these pollinators, then we wouldn't have many of the foods — fruits especially — that we are used to."
The eradication of the hornet is a significant achievement, but Goodisman says it's not a foregone conclusion that they will not reemerge. Because social insects, like murder hornets, can hibernate in various materials, cargo ships and other commercial transportation can unknowingly bring invasive species worldwide. He explains that officials will continue to set traps and employ additional tracking methods to ensure the population remains eradicated in the U.S.
If murder hornets come back, humans are not at immediate risk. Like the bald-faced hornet and the true hornet, which live in Georgia, murder hornets typically leave humans alone unless provoked, Goodisman says, but their larger-than-normal stingers cause more pain and are more harmful to small animals.
The College of Sciences launched its Young Alumni Board (CoSYAB) this fall. This volunteer-based leadership group is tasked with deepening the relationship between recent Yellow Jacket graduates and the College. Specifically, CoSYAB will partner with the existing External Advisory Board and Friends of the Sciences to engage the College of Sciences community and support its strategic plan.
“With over 16,000 living College alumni, it is no small feat to regularly connect and engage with our community,” says Leslie Roberts, director of Alumni Relations at the College of Sciences. “It is exciting that the College has a new group of alumni leaders targeting our most recent graduates. The Board will help us expand our efforts to connect our current students with professional opportunities and link our alumni with initiatives that support the growth of the College.”
The inaugural Young Alumni Board consists of 13 members who obtained an undergraduate degree from the College within the last 20 years or a master’s or Ph.D. degree from the College within the last 10 years.
“The first cohort was chosen from a list of alumni who have previously engaged with the College or the Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Moving forward, there will be a nomination process,” explains Roberts. Among the board requirements, members must provide at least $300 in annual philanthropic contributions to the Dean’s Excellence Fund and participate in regular meetings. The members will serve a three-year term.
Building community through philanthropy and service
CoSYAB members bring a range of academic experiences and professional perspectives — united by two goals: to build a dynamic community of College of Sciences alumni and to help create a bridge between current students and recent graduates. Service is another key element of the Board’s mission.
“Joining the Young Alumni Board was a chance to give back to a community that deeply invested in me during my time at Georgia Tech,” says Austin Hope (B.S. PSY 2014), who serves as a people partner at Google. “I'm looking forward to mentoring students and recent graduates, especially those eager to explore how a science background can open doors to diverse and rewarding careers.”
Piper Rackley (B.S. BIO 2022, M.S. BIO 2023), who serves as a startup technology analyst, agrees: “Giving back is important because the College of Sciences played a significant role in my academic and personal growth during both of my degrees. Staying connected allows me to contribute to the same supportive environment that helped shape me.”
According to Roberts, the Board will prioritize opportunities for philanthropic engagement and professional development, as well as events during which alumni can connect with current students, faculty, and each other.
Yusuf Uddin (B.S. BIO 2012, Ph.D. BIO 2018), Head of Talent at KdT Ventures, joined CoSYAB to network with fellow alumni and bring his perspective to conversations about the future of the Institute. “Georgia Tech has a strong brand and is very well known for engineering, but if we want to strengthen the sciences, it’s important for College of Sciences alumni to share their experiences, build a community, and connect with the next generation,” he adds.
Likewise, for Kristel Topping (Ph.D. Applied Physiology 2021), principal UX researcher at Home Depot, the Board is an opportunity to support the mission and impact of Georgia Tech: “It is important to connect and give back to the Institute and our students, to empower the next generation of engineers and scientists to take their talent beyond Georgia Tech's walls in order to drive innovation, make meaningful contributions to their communities, and leverage the immense potential they have to create lasting and positive change across the globe.”
2024 College of Sciences Young Alumni Board
Sathya “Sat” Balachander
Ph.D. Biology 2018
Riana Burney
B.S. Biochemistry 2015
Stephen Crooke
Ph.D. Chemistry 2018
Ralph Cullen
B.S. Psychology 2008; M.S. Psychology 2011
Alison Graab
B.S. Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 2008
Austin Hope
B.S. Psychology 2014
Hannah Liu
M.S Bioinformatics 2017
Anita Mohammed
B.S. Psychology 2012
Piper Rackley
B.S. Biology 2022; M.S. Biology 2023
Kristel Topping
Ph.D. Applied Physiology 2021
Yusuf Uddin
B.S. Biology 2012; Ph.D. Biology 2018
Megen Wittling
B.S. Biology 2018
Ashley Zuniga
B.S. Biochemistry 2014
In South Florida, two Caribbean lizard species met for the first time. What followed provided some of the clearest evidence to date of evolution in action.
Lead author James Stroud, an assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences, was studying Cuban brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) in South Florida when the Puerto Rican crested anole (Anolis cristatellus), suddenly appeared in the region.
Published in Nature Communications, the study documents what happens as the two Anolis lizards adapted in response to the new competitor, while helping to resolve a longstanding challenge in evolutionary biology — directly observing the role of natural selection in character displacement: how similar animals adapt in response to competition.
"Most of what we know about how animals change in response to this process comes from studying patterns that evolved long ago,” Stroud says. “This was a rare opportunity where we could watch evolution as it happened."
Competition from coexistence
While these two small, brown lizards diverged evolutionarily between 40-60 million years ago and evolved on completely separate Caribbean islands, the two species are nearly identical, and fill similar ecological niches.
So, when the Puerto Rican crested anole suddenly appeared in Cuban brown anole habitat at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in 2018, the two were competing for similar habitats and food sources.
“When two similar species compete for the same resources, like food and territory, they often evolve differences that allow them to coexist,” Stroud says. But, while scientists have found many examples of similar species developing different traits to ease this overlap, “scientists have rarely been able to observe this process as it unfolds in nature.”
Stroud’s team had already been studying Cuban brown anoles at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Miami, Florida, two years prior to when the crested anoles invaded. The team was able to quickly pivot to observe how the invasion changed both species, analyzing the lizards’ changing diets, measuring if the lizards were moving through foliage or on the forest floor, and recording the different species’ locations relative to each other. For over a thousand lizards, they also measured perch height — the distance from the ground that the lizard is perching — a primary marker of how Anolis lizards divvy up habitat.
“We not only observed how these lizards changed their habitat use and behavior when they encountered each other,” says Stroud, “but we also documented the natural selection pressures driving their physical evolution in real-time."
Human-made habitats and natural experiments
The research team found that when these lizard species occur together, they divide up their habitat in predictable ways — the Cuban brown anole shifted to spend more time on the ground, and evolved longer legs to run faster in this habitat, while the slightly larger Cuban crested anole lived in vegetation above the ground.
"We found that brown anoles with longer legs had higher survival after crested anoles showed up," says Stroud. "This matches perfectly with the physical differences we see in populations where these species have been living together for many generations."
Stroud adds that while the research provides some of the strongest observations of evolution in action to date, it also demonstrates how human activities can create natural experiments that help us understand fundamental evolutionary processes — both species of Anolis lizard in the study were originally non-native to South Florida.
“As species increasingly come into contact due to human-mediated introductions and climate change, these studies may be important for predicting how communities will respond,” he says. "By studying these non-native lizards who are meeting each other for the first time in their existence, we had a unique opportunity to see the actual process unfold and connect it to the patterns we observe in nature."
Kristine Lacek vividly remembers watching news coverage of the West Africa Ebola outbreak while she was in high school. Inspired by the brave scientists investigating the disease, she wrote one of her Georgia Tech application essays about her aspiration to work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and contribute to their mission of preventing, detecting, and responding to disease threats.
Less than 10 years later, her high school dream became a hectic, fast-paced — and fulfilling — reality. Armed with an accelerated bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in bioinformatics from Georgia Tech, the double Jacket started a fellowship at the CDC during a pivotal time in history — the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was sink or swim for sure,” says Lacek. “Knowing I was working on public health decision-making that could make a lifesaving difference worldwide showed me I had chosen the right path.”
Today, Lacek continues her drive to make a positive global impact as a bioinformatics scientist at the CDC, specializing in influenza and SARS-CoV-2 genomics. Her career has taken her around the world, with time spent in places like Ghana, Oman, Panama, Algeria, India, Thailand, and the Republic of Georgia. She currently lives in Denver, but will return to Georgia Tech to provide the graduation speech at the College of Sciences’ inaugural master’s commencement ceremony this December.
We recently sat down with Lacek to talk about her career and Georgia Tech experience:
What is your favorite memory from Georgia Tech?
Lacek: I always enjoyed the Georgia Tech nights at various Atlanta special event locations like the aquarium and Six Flags. When I was in grad school, the grad gala was held at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Halfway through the night, my then-boyfriend-and-now husband looked around and said we should get married here — and we did!
What were some of your college activities?
Lacek: I worked a lot to fund my way through school. I tutored at the Center for Academic Success and worked as an athletic training aid with the track and field team. I gained research experience in the Exercise Physiology Laboratory as an undergrad and in the Gibson Lab as a grad student. Each summer, I served as the teaching assistant for the Biomolecular Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST) Study Abroad Program in Lyon, France.
How did Georgia Tech prepare you for success?
Lacek: The mix of coursework in my undergraduate and graduate studies was ideal for my career. As an undergrad biology major, I learned key theories and scientific concepts that I still use daily. Studying bioinformatics in grad school, I refined my technical skills in coding, math, and computer science. My two skill sets work well together. Because I understand the molecular side of the interdisciplinary coin, I can better apply technical tools to get the answers I need from the data.
What advice do you have for Georgia Tech students, particularly those looking for a career in bioinformatics?
Lacek: Being a fast learner is the best skill you can have, especially as technology continues to rapidly evolve. The things you are learning right now may not be the exact language or application you will use as a young professional, so the ability to learn new products, programs, and schema quickly will make you very valuable.
On the public health side of things, I think being a really good collaborator and communicator is quintessential for success. One of my biggest regrets is not learning another language. As someone who does a large amount of technical support for other countries and overseas partners, working well with others and good communication is vital.
How do you define bioinformatics?
Lacek: To me, bioinformatics is like a triangle of biology, computer science, and mathematics/statistics. I’m kind of halfway between the biology and computer science side, focusing a lot on next generation sequencing. I use code and statistical applications to make global health predictions based on the data analytics available.
Tell us more about what you do.
Lacek: I do a lot of genomic surveillance, which is basically tracking and monitoring genetic material to detect new mutations and variants. Influenza, for example, circulates year-round worldwide, and we are constantly sequencing samples from all over the place to track what the virus currently looks like and project what will happen globally. At the same time, we're also monitoring for novel outbreaks, with a posture of pandemic preparedness so that if something new and scary pops up, we are already looking for it.
How are you making a difference in the world today?
Lacek: After the COVID-19 emergency response wound down, I moved my focus to influenza. Over the last two years I have been going around the world to train other ministries of health in bioinformatics and next generation sequencing to do what we do in the United States for respiratory virus surveillance.
I believe I've trained and supported scientists from 89 different countries. Because of this effort, we’ve detected some novel variants, such as a new swine flu in Vietnam. It’s thrilling to know that we are making a worldwide impact by helping countries who don’t always have the technical resources and informatics personnel we enjoy here in the U.S.
What are your hobbies?
Lacek: I love to read; I read 106 books last year! I live in Denver, so of course, I enjoy hiking. I recently completed my first 14er (hiking a mountain peak that’s 14,000 feet above sea level). I also love to thrift, cook, and eat out!
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