The Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience (MCN) Program's Seminar Series "The Genetic Basis of Behavioral Evolution"
Description
Current Research
Hopi Hoekstra is studying the ultimate and proximate mechanisms responsible for traits that matter for the survival and reproduction of organisms in their natural environments. She uses wild and captive populations of deer mice to track down genetic changes that contribute to variation in morphology, reproduction and behavior. This work has implications for understanding the evolutionary process and may shed light on the genetic origins of variation in other species, including humans.
Speaker Bio
Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology and Curator of Mammals in the Museum of Comparative Zoology
Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Professor of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Additional Info
Research
Our research focuses on understanding how variation is generated and maintained in natural populations. In particular, we are interested in understanding both the proximate (i.e., molecular, genetic, developmental and neurobiological mechanisms) and ultimate (i.e., timing, strength and agent of selection) causes of evolutionary change. Thus, much of our research focuses on identifying and characterizing the molecular changes responsible for traits that affect fitness of organisms in the wild. To this end, we use an interdisciplinary approach combining molecular techniques (ranging from next-gen sequencing and transcriptomics to cell-based pharmacological assays and in vivo viral vectors), population-genetic tests, classical genetic crosses, lab-based behavioral assays and field-based experiments. We focus primarily on natural populations of rodents in which ecological and genomic information can be combined to address fundamental questions about the evolution of morphological, behavioral and reproductive diversity.