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Greetings from the Department of Ecology and Evolution! I hope this newsletter finds you well.
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| Ecology and Evolution Spring 2025 Newsletter |
Dear Alumni and Friends,
Greetings from the Department of Ecology and Evolution! I hope this newsletter finds you well. I'm happy to share some recent highlights and updates from our department.
First, a huge thank you to everyone who supported us during Giving Day. With your help, we raised just over $10,000! Your generosity directly benefits our graduate students and their research. We're working hard to increase our support for graduate student and faculty research (see opportunities to donate). There is also an exceptional 3X endowment matching opportunity; please reach out if you'd like to learn more.
The Department is currently in an exciting phase of strategic planning and growth. We're completing a self-study and preparing for an external review in May. We're also hiring a Drylands Ecologist (joint with the Turkana Basin Institute) and a position focusing on Genomics in a Changing World.
As always, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send your news and updates, or simply reply to this newsletter with a quick note.
Best wishes,
Joshua S. Rest
Associate Professor and Chair |
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| Alumni Spotlight |
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Dr. Daniel Martinez and the Immortal Hydra
We're pleased to highlight Daniel Martinez '93, PhD, whose groundbreaking research on Hydra has redefined our understanding of longevity. Inspired by Larry Slobodkin's observations, Daniel's 20-year study provided compelling evidence for Hydra's potentially immortal nature. His meticulous work, which included transporting Hydra colonies across the country, demonstrated their continuous budding and persistence. In addition, Daniel has challenged established theories on senescence by demonstrating the mortality of a budding oligochaete worm.
While working at Pomona College, Daniel secured significant NIH funding and actively involves undergraduates in his research. His contributions, including co-authoring numerous papers and participating in the 2010 Hydra genome project, have solidified his standing as a leading figure in evolutionary biology. Recently featured in Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan's book, Why We Die, Daniel's work exemplifies the impactful research conducted by our alumni. We are immensely proud of his dedication to scientific discovery and his contributions
to the field.
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| Undergraduate Student Spotlight |
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Loy Hashimoto, Recognized as URECA Researcher of the Month
Rising senior Yuu-U "Loy" Hashimoto, a biology major and recent member of the Vitek Lab, was recognized last fall as an Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (URECA) Researcher of the Month. She joined the Vitek lab in her first year, received a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence in 2022 and was a SUNY SOAR participant in 2023.
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Visiting Undergrad Uncovers Captivity's Impact on Brain Gene Expression
Visiting undergraduate researcher Maria Alejandra Bedoya Duque, a 2022 Hearst Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow, was the first author of a recently published study, “Gene expression comparisons between captive and wild shrew brains reveal captivity effects,” in Biology Letters. Under the mentorship of postdoc Bill Thomas and Professor Liliana Dávalos, Maria spent two months learning bioinformatics and analyzing differential gene expression in the cortex, hippocampus and olfactory bulbs between captive and wild shrews.
Their findings revealed hundreds of differentially expressed genes across all three brain regions, which enriched pathways linked to neurodegenerative disease, oxidative phosphorylation and ribosomal protein production — suggesting that captivity may alter brain gene expression in ways that resemble responses seen in human neurological disorders like major depressive disorder and neurodegeneration. The manuscript gained recognition in Long Island’s TBR News Media. Reflecting on the experience, Maria credits her time at Stony Brook as a pivotal step in her scientific career, stating that it provided a "launching pad" for her future research endeavors. Congratulations Maria Alejandra! |
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| Graduate Student Spotlights |
 Carlos Morantes Ariza
We're delighted to announce PhD candidate Carlos Morantes Ariza was awarded the Northeast Aquatic Plant Management Society (NEAPMS) Graduate Student Scholarship for 2025. This scholarship will support Carlos's research focused on enhancing the management of an invasive aquatic plant on Long Island. NEAPMS recognized Carlos's "innovative approach and commitment to improving the management of aquatic systems," and expressed confidence that his work "will make a significant contribution to the field." Congratulations, Carlos!
 Julia Dovi
Congratulations to Julia Dovi, a second year master's student, who was accepted to the Yale Environmental Fellows Program for this summer.
Graduate students Nicolas Anderson, Sixto Taveras Lopez, Alexander Kwayke and Julia Dovi, recently participated in BRIDGES: A Cross-Departmental Graduate Student Conference at Stony Brook.
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| PhD Student Spotlight |
Congratulations to our E&E students who recently defended. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Pictured here, from top left:
- Dr. Urmi Poddar
- Dr. Lexi Brown
- Dr. Nicolette Sipperly
- Dr. Ashley Morris
- Dr. Michael J. Wethington
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Using funds from his Student Excellence Award, PhD candidate Nicholas Anderson attended and presented at the World Aquaculture Society's (WAS) triennial meeting in New Orleans. |
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| Alumni News |
 Congratulations to Athma Senthilnathan, PhD, a former postdoc in the D'Andrea lab, who will be joining the faculty of the Department of Biology at the University of Michigan - Flint as assistant professor this fall.
 We are pleased to announce that Michael Schrimpf '20, PhD, has accepted a faculty position at Thomas College in Waterville, Maine. He will be a founding member of their new Biology Department. Congratulations, Dr. Schrimpf! |
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| Publication Highlights |
Doctoral student Noah Dean, undergraduate Zhangpeng Zheng and Assistant Professor Rafael D'Andrea recently published a study in the Journal for Nature Conservation that used a modeling approach to assess the effectiveness of different conservation strategies for an endangered New Zealand lizard.
Congratulations to postdoctoral researcher Bill Thomas, Professor and PI Liliana Dávalos and colleagues who recently published their study, “Seasonal and Comparative Evidence of Adaptive Gene Expression in Mammalian Brain Size Plasticity," as a reviewed preprint in eLife. This research investigates the remarkable brain size plasticity of the Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus), which shrinks and regrows its brain seasonally to endure winter.
By analyzing gene expression changes in the hypothalamus — a key brain region for metabolic regulation — the study identifies seasonal and evolutionary shifts in genes linked to energy homeostasis, apoptosis and blood-brain barrier development. The study attracted media coverage in The Scientist, among others.
 E&E Assistant Professor Tara Smiley’s paper "Direct effects of mountain uplift and topography on biodiversity" was recently published in Science. Along with co-authors, Tara used model simulations of coupled landscape and evolutionary processes to understand modern and fossil biodiversity patterns in mountainous regions. In particular, they simulated population dynamics and biological speciation in modeled mountain-building scenarios. They found that higher uplift rates and the development of more complex topography during mountain building generated higher species richness across scales, and that biodiversity patterns in erosional highlands are mirrored in lowland depositional environments, suggesting that the fossil record is a faithful recorder of the coupled dynamics of mountain building and species diversification over geologic time.
Read the editor's highlight and the paper here.
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| Alumni Books |
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In Pursuit of the Good Life in College
by Dustin Brisson '06, PhD
Alumnus Dustin Brisson '06, PhD recently published "In Pursuit of the Good Life in College," a book that addresses the challenges faced by college students, offering practical strategies for navigating these obstacles and fostering personal growth. One of our many fond memories of Dustin is that he secured a tenure-track position before completing his PhD in 2006! If you'd like to check out his book, click here.
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| Faculty Updates |
| Last December, Professor Liliana Dávalos stood before policymakers and the public at the National Academy of Sciences, the Colombian ambassador’s residence and the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., with an urgent message: the Amazon is under unprecedented threat. Through her role as one of only four US representatives in the inaugural Fulbright Amazonia cohort, Liliana brought years of research to address the challenges facing the region. |
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Professor Heather Lynch was recently featured in the Princeton Alumni weekly. |
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| Community Outreach |
| This past semester, the Department hosted a Darwin Day lecture featuring ecologist Dr. Timothy Mousseau. He shared his 25 years of research on the evolutionary impacts of radiation in Chernobyl and Fukushima, drawing a large audience to hear about the resilience of life in these "hot places." |
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Congratulations to our recent annual E&E retreat awardees:
 Best Teaching Assistant Award:
Robert Kruse, Baines Lab
Alex Chege, Markham Lab
Department Service Award:
Julia Dovi, Padilla Lab
Conservation Leadership Award:
Carlos Mornates Ariza, D’Andrea Lab
Slobodkin Award:
Sixto Taveras Lopez, Watson Lab
Henry Chao, D’Andrea Lab
Rupert Ikeh, Baines Lab
Julia Dovi, Carlos Morantes Ariza
Department Excellence Award:
Kate Blackwell, Lynch Lab
Nicolas Anderson, Padilla Lab
Samuel Lavin, Smiley Lab
Imogene Welles, Smiley Lab
Ariek Norford, Akcakaya Lab
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| Thank you for your support |
| Once again, from all of us in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, thank you for your support on Giving Day. Special thanks to Dr. Jeff Levinton for generously funding our matching challenge! We are all grateful to our alumni and friends. |
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Stay Connected
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| Your generous contributions allow E&E graduate students to continue their research around the world. To learn more about supporting their transformative efforts, contact Jill Ashton, director of development, at (631) 632-1455. |
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Stony Brook University
E-3320 Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library | Stony Brook, NY 11794-3354
(631) 632-6999 |
Stony Brook Foundation, Stony Brook University
230 Administration | Stony Brook, NY 11794-1188 |
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