Hoekstra People

Principal Investigator

Hopi E. Hoekstra, Ph.D.

hoekstra@oeb.harvard.edu

Curriculum Vitae

.....Hopi received her B.A. in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley. She completed her Ph.D. in 2000 as a Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellow at the University of Washington. She then moved to the University of Arizona as a NIH Postdoctoral Fellow where she studied the genetic basis of adaptive melanism in pocket mice. In 2003, she became an Assistant Professor at UC San Diego. Recently, she moved to Harvard University, where she is a John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Biology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and the Curator of Mammals at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. She is broadly interested in the genetic basis of adaptation and speciation in vertebrates.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Sacha N. Vignieri, Ph.D.
svignieri@oeb.harvard.edu
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.....Sacha graduated with a degree in Integrative Biology from the UC Berkeley in 1993. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Washington with an EPA STAR Fellowship. For her dissertation, Sacha studied the effects of habitat restricted gene-flow in a patchily distributed species, the Pacific jumping mouse (Zapus trinotatus). Sacha received the Anna M. Jackson Award from the American Society of Mammalogists and recently completed a Leverhulme Trust Visiting Scholar Fellowship at the University of Sussex. Sacha is currently a UC Presidental Postdoctoral Fellow and is studying microevolutionary genetics in beach mice. She is interested in understanding the effects of environmental heterogeneity on patterns of neutral and adaptive genetic variation. Her interests span evolutionary genetics, molecular ecology and conservation.

Holger Römpler, Ph.D.
Holger.Roempler@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
.....Holger got his Diploma in Pharmacology from the Free University of Berlin (Germany) in 2001. He has completed his Ph.D. at the University Leipzig (Germany) under the supervision of Dr. Torsten Schöneberg. The main focuses of his research is structure-function relationships of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) and their evolution. His work also includes the sequence reconstruction and functional analyses of GPCRs from extinct species, such as the woolly mammoths and Neanderthals. Holger joined the lab in spring of 2007 to continue his interests in functional consequences of GPCR mutations and their role in adaptive change. He is also interested in molecular population genetics. Holger is jointly supervised by Dr. Torsten Schöneberg at the University of Leipzig, Germany.

Catherine R. Linnen, Ph.D.
clinnen@oeb.harvard.edu
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.....Catherine graduated summa cum laude from the University of Georgia in 2000. Catherine recently completed her Ph.D. at Harvard University. In her dissertation research, she used coalescent and phylogenetic methods to investigate patterns of hybridization and speciation in a group of plant-feeding insects. For this work, she was awarded the Ernst Mayr Award from the Society of Systematic Biologists. Catherine's graduate research was supported by an NSF Predoctoral Fellowship, an NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant, and an EPA STAR Fellowship. Catherine joined the lab in July 2007 to pursue her interest in the role that natural selection plays in the diversification of natural populations of Peromyscus. She is studying the mechanisms (ecological to molecular) responsible for adaptation. She is funded by a 3-year NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Heidi S. Fisher, Ph.D.
hfisher@oeb.harvard.edu
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.....Heidi graduated from the UC San Diego in 2000 and continued on to complete her M.S. studying sexual selection in the pygmy loris. Heidi earned her Ph.D. at Boston University. For her dissertation, she studied the evolution of sexual communication and the breakdown of isolating mechanisms in swordtail fish. Her research was funded by a Palmer-McLeod Research Fellowship and several grants including those from SICB, Sigma Xi and the Animal Behavior Society, which also awarded her the E.O. Wilson Conservation Award in 2005. Heidi continues to be interested in post-mating sexual selection and reproductive isolation. She is exploring the role of mating choice and sperm competition (and their underlying genetic basis) in Peromyscus. Heidi is funded by a 3-year NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Marie Manceau, Ph.D.
mmanceau@oeb.harvard.edu
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.....Marie received her Mater's and Ph.D. degrees in Developmental Biology from the University Aix-Maireseille II in France. Marie specializes in the origin and development of muscle cells. To study myogenesis, she utilized both the mouse and chicken model systems. Maire continues to be interested in the development of morphological variation. Currently, she is working to understand how small changes in development can lead to large changes in adult morphologies. Specifically, Maries examines how early changes in the origin, differentiation and migration of melanocytes (pigment producing cells) affect pigmentation pattern. She studies adaptive color pattern in beach mice, and in a new project, Marie asks: How do chipmunks get their stripes?

Vera Domingues, Ph.D.
vdomingues@oeb.harvard.edu
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.....Vera graduated from the University of Lisbon in 2001, and then worked as a technician for 20 months at ISPA (Portugal). She recently completed her Ph.D at the University of the Azores. For her dissertation she studied the phylogeography and historical population dynamics of coastal fish species from the northeastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. She conducted her research both at ISPA and at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Vera received the 2006 IMAR-Luiz Saldanha prize for best Portuguese young researcher publication. Vera joined the lab to pursue her interests in the genetic mechanisms that underlie evolutionary processes such as adaptation and speciation. She was awarded a 2-year FCT postdoctoral fellowship to work on the genetic basis of adaptive convergence in Peromyscus coloration.

Brant Peterson, Ph.D.
bpeterson@oeb.harvard.edu
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.....Brant completed his B.A. in History & Philosophy of Science, and his B.Phil. in Molecular Biology at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2008, he received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology with Michael Eisen at UC Berkeley. Brant's dissertation research focused on using a combination of comparative and functional genomic tools and computational techniques to explore non-coding regulatory DNA of key embryonic patterning genes in several families of higher flies. After his brief exposure to "real biology" in the form of netting scavenger flies from cow manure, Brant decided to study natural variation of mammalian genomes to ask how genomes are shaped by adaptation. Brant joined the Hoekstra lab in 2009 as a Jane Coffin Childs Fellow. He is currently taking advantage of recent advances in DNA sequencing technology to explore variation within and between populations of Peromyscus specifically to understand the impact of genomic diversity on phenotypic variation.

Yael Salzman Aminetzach, Ph.D.
ysalzman@oeb.harvard.edu
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.....Yael received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2006. In Dmitri Petrov's lab, she focused on population genetics and adaptations in Drosophila. Specifically, she studied transposable element insertion into a conserved gene and its role in the evolution of insecticide resistence. Yael then moved to New Zealand and spent a year conducting association studies in humans -- linking variation in olfaction receptors to odor perception. Yael is particularly interested in adaptive evolution at the molecular level. She is studying the molecular mechanisms and evolutionary history of toxicity in shrew venom. Her work was recently featured in The Washington Post. Recently, she was awarded a 10-year Fredrico Foundation Fellowship.

Graduate Students

Lynne M. Mullen: Ph.D. student

lmullen@oeb.harvard.edu

.....Lynne completed her B.S. at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and then spent several years working in both academic labs and at biotechnology companies honing her skills in genomics. She has a strong interest in molecular evolution. Lynne has been awarded a NSF Predoctoral Fellowship, Grants-in-Aid Award from the American Society of Mammalogists and the Messier Award from UCSD. Most recently, she was awarded a NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant and the Elizabeth Horner Prize. Lynne is currently working on the ecological genetics of beach populations of Peromyscus. Her work focuses on clinal patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation in both contemporary and ancient populations of beach mice. Lynne has successfully amplified DNA from museum skins collected by Sumner in the 1910's as well as extinct subspecies of beach mice. Her research covers the fields of population genetics, phylogeography and conservation biology.

Jesse N. Weber: Ph.D. student

jweber@oeb.harvard.edu

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.....Jesse graduated from the University of Colorado in 2004 with a double major in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental (MCD) Biology and Biochemistry. Jesse conducted research for three years in Dr. Leslie Leinwand’s lab studying the regulation of genes involved in skeletal muscle development. He also studied seasonal migration patters of large ungulates in Botswana. Here, Jesse is studying the genetic basis of adaptive behaviors. He is currently pursuing a project to uncover the evolutionary history and genetic architecture of burrow building in Peromyscus. Jesse received a Messier Award and Barbour Funds for his fieldwork to examine the variation in Peromyscus burrows in nature. Jesse also was the recipient of a four-year Chancellor's Fellowship, a NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant and recently was awarded the Hamilton Prize for best student presentation at the Evolution 2009 Meetings.

Wenfei Tong: Ph.D. student

wtong@fas.harvard.edu

.....Wenfei graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 2005. For her Senior Honors Thesis, Wenfei studied the importance of kinship in zebras using both molecular techniques and behavioral observations in Africa with Dan Rubenstein. She was awarded the Senior Book Prize for Highest Honors. Wenfei is interested in the evolution of animal behavior. She is studying natural populations of mound-building mice (Mus spicilegus) in Eastern Europe. Using a combination of field and molecular techniques, Wenfei is working to understand how cooperative mound building had evolved by determining who builds and occupies these nests (using field behavioral tests and molecular markers) as well as the contribution of genetics to this mound building behavior (using laboratory-based experiments and quantitative genomics). She has been awarded the James Mills Pierce Fellowship. Wenfei is jointly supervised by Professor David Haig.

Evan P. Kingsley: Ph.D. student

ekingsley@oeb.harvard.edu

.....Evan received his Biology degree at the University of Rochester in NY. Following graduation, he spent a year working in David Lambert's Lab, studying the cellular mechanisms underlying animal development in a mollusc system, and published this work in Evolution and Development. Evan is interested in the evolution of animal development and connecting microevolutionary processes to interspecific variation. Evan is focusing on the developmental, genetic and molecular basis of morphological variation in natural populations. He is specifically interested in understanding whether convergent adaptive phenotypes are generated by similar or different genetic mechanisms. Evan recently received an ASM Grants-in-Aid Award and a Honorable Mention NSF Graduate Fellowship.

Emily H. Kay: Ph.D. student

ekay@oeb.harvard.edu

.....Emily joined the lab in Fall 2007. She graduated with Honors from the University of Chicago in 2005 and spent the following two years working in Stephen Pruett-Jones' lab studying reproductive promiscuity in Australia's splendid fairy-wrens. She has also investigated the genetic basis of sexually dimorphic traits with Jerry Coyne. Emily continues to be interested in the evolution and genetics of reproductive isolating barriers. She is currently studying ecological and sexual isolation between two sympatric species of deer mice in the southeastern United States. She uses a combination of fieldwork, experiments, genetics and molecular tools to identify the gnomic regions and genes contributing to divergence and reproductive isolation. Emily has recently received an ASM Grants-in-Aid Award, a MCZ Putnam Award, a Mind-Brain-Behavior Research Award and a NSF Graduate Fellowship.

Emily Jacobs-Palmer: Ph.D. student

ejacobspalmer@oeb.harvard.edu

.....Emily graduated with a degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Wesleyan University, where she studied the kinetics of MutS, a DNA repair enzyme. A semester in Tanzania conducting avian diversity surveys affirmed her enthusiasm for ecology and evolutionary biology. Since graduating in 2006, Emily has worked in the lab of Dr. Stephen Palumbi at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station. She has been studying a genetic cline in the acorn barnacle, Balanus glandula, and developing novel array technology for the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms. Emily joined the lab in 2008 with a NSF Predoctoral Fellowship. She is currently working on two projects: (1) the genetic basis of color adaptation, and (2) protein interactions that contribute pre-zygotic reproductive isolation in Peromyscus.

Hillery Metz: Ph.D. student

hillerymetz@gmail.com

....Hillery graduated summa cum laude in 2006, with degrees in Biology and Microbiology from the University of Idaho. As an undergraduate, she studied the neurobiology of working memory in Kathy Magnusson's lab. After graduating, she worked in Susan Wray's lab at the National Institutes of Health for two years. There, she studied the development and migration of GnRH cells, which are the neurons that control reproduction in vertebrates. Hillery joined the lab in 2009 with a NSF Predoctoral Fellowship, and is currently working on two projects: (1) the neurobiological basis of burrowing behavior in Peromyscus, and (2) the developmental patterning and evolution of stripes in rodents.

Lab Mascot

Summit

.....Summit is the official Hoekstra Lab mascot. She became interested in "survival of the fittest" when she was abandoned in the Arizona desert as a small puppy. Lucky for Summit, she was rescued by a biologist intrigued by her pigmentation pattern. Summit is currently working on sleeping in the corner of the office, sniffing lab visitors, and scrounging for snacks in the tea room.

Former Lab Members