David Lowry

A bright red, tubular flower of Mimulus cardinalis, viewed in profile; photo by Curtis Clark via Wikimedia Commons

A resurrection study of scarlet monkeyflower populations across the species' range finds relatively little adaptive response to a seven-year drought event, showing that evolutionary rescue is not as predictable as we might hope 🌿

buff.ly/L8o4hhr

UNC-Wilmington is hiring 3 faculty positions:
Assistant Professor of Invertebrate Biology:
jobs.uncw.edu/postings/38056
Distinguished Professor of Marine Science:
jobs.uncw.edu/postings/37951
Distinguished Professor of Marine Biology:
jobs.uncw.edu/postings/38009

Food will be more affordable — if we double funds for agriculture research now A global drop in public and private investment in agricultural science in the past four decades is partly to blame for high food prices, an analysis reveals.

Comment in @nature.com: "Food will be more affordable — if we double funds for agriculture research now" www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A global drop in public and private investment in agricultural science in the past four decades is partly to blame for high food prices, an analysis reveals.

This is awesome! Congratulations!!!

Our plant-focused REU program, led by Prof Nagel, is open for applications, please forward to undergrads and reskeet etap.nsf.gov/award/7573/o... 🌱 🧪

Enabling Discovery Through Genomics (EDGE)

The new Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE) Program page is posted. Please contact us at BIOEDGE@nsf.gov if you have questions. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Genomic selection and reproducibility: are complex models distracting us from true scientific validity in the presence of genotype-by-environment interaction? Genomic selection has revolutionized plant breeding by dramatically accelerating the pace of genetic improvement. By utilizing genome-wide markers, it allo

Are we trying too hard with overly complex models? Alex Lipka and Reeka Howard argue that we do when it comes genomic prediction!

🧬🧪

Open Access:

G3 Genes Genome Genetics, jkaf244, doi.org/10.1093/g3jo...

Reposting this as a reminder that we will continue to accept applicants for this postdoctoral position until December 23rd.

In this new study, we provide evidence that switchgrass evolutionary adaptations to fungal pathogens led to shifts in concentrations of saponins, which in turn interfere with the downstream industrial process of fermentation by yeasts to make biofuels. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Yup, I am proud to have the three students who are part of my group right now.

I probably have at least 75% fewer domestic potential students who have contacted me this year than last year. That said, I have never actively recruited students.

Symbol of ancient Athens with Owl.

No games, just pure academics in the order of the owl.

Would you like to join my Athenian club of MSU?

The UC Davis Ecology and Evolution in Working Landscapes REU provides undergrads with research experience in ecology and evolution in natural and managed landscapes. Apply now through Feb 15 via etap.nsf.gov

Contact me or @clhom.bsky.social for questions!

Thanks Graham!

Zaha Hadid Was an Architectural Visionary. Here's Where to Find Her Most Iconic Buildings. The late architect was nicknamed “the Queen of the Curve.”

“Zaha Hadid Was an Architectural Visionary. Here’s Where to Find Her Most Iconic Buildings.” We are lucky to have one of them right here in East Lansing, MI. www.afar.com/magazine/zah...

​The @mortonarboretum.bsky.social NSF REU program ​is open for summer 2026! $7500 stipend + housing / travel. Apply by 31 Jan 2026 and share with your networks!

Details at ​​https://mortonarb.org/science/opportunities-in-science/research-experiences-for-undergraduates-program/

A square graphic broken into four quadrants, with the NatSci logo and text "2025 College Awards" in the top left corner, a photo of Emily Josephs receiving her award from Eric Hegg in the top right, a photo of David Lowry receiving his award from Eric Hegg in the bottom left, and a headshot of Sue Rhee in the bottom right.

PRI is proud to highlight the extraordinary achievements of 3 faculty recognized with awards from the College of Natural Science:

Emily Josephs: Teacher-Scholar Award
David Lowry: Postdoctoral Mentoring Award
Sue Rhee: Research Leadership Award

Read more: plantresilience.msu.edu/pri-news/202...

Employment - Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

EEB Postdoctoral Fellowship @ U.Toronto app deadline Jan 15 2026. Opportunity for independent research, encourages collab across labs/disciplines. Lots of great folks to interact with, Come join us!
eeb.utoronto.ca/employment-2/

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine (Gift Article) A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.

New York Times article on science funding with some depressing but familiar curves with interactive graphics.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Congratulations to @alaynamead.bsky.social and the entire #PopUpPoplars team for this collaborative effort predicting genotypic responses across environments. This research uses 17 replicated ‘mini gardens’ to predict role of mixed ancestry to growth, survival, and expansion to novel environments

Variation in responses to temperature in admixed Populus genotypes predicts geographic shifts in regions where hybrids are favored Plastic responses of plants to their environment vary as a result of genetic differentiation within and among species. To accurately predict rangewide responses to climate change, it is necessary to...

Excited to see our first paper for this 17 common garden collaborative study on hybrid Poplar performance now out in New Phytologist. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

PEQG. Obvi

Well, the snowstorm kinda fizzled, so what else was there to report on in Mid-Michigan this weekend?

‘Stranger Things’ is back and so are the Durham references. Here’s what we found. The creators of the popular Netflix show are Durham natives and they love to drop references in episodes. We looked for them all — what did we miss?

Took me all the way to Season 5 Episode 4 of Stranger Things to Google whether it was a coincidence that the names of roads in Hawkins match those of the west side of Durham, NC. Apparently not…https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/tv/warm-tv-blog/article261972280.html

You want to be the next coach?

newsGP - Australia set for world-first cervical cancer elimination Vaccination programs have played a key role, and GPs remain ‘instrumental’ in boosting screening rates to reach the 2035 target.

Australia recorded ZERO cases of cervical cancer in women under 25 for the first time since they started tracking the cancer in the 80s.

This is the power of vaccines.

The HPV vaccine is extremely effective at preventing cancer.

Viruses can be oncogenic. Get your vaccines and protect yourself!

Big bluestem has been a lovely and complex system to work with for the majority of my PhD and will always have a piece of my heart! Very excited to share this work with the community.

W2-Professur für Pflanzenphysiologie (m/w/d) - Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) bietet Stelle als W2-Professur für Pflanzenphysiologie (m/w/d) in Kaiserslautern - jetzt bewerben!

Professorship Plant Physiology. Kaiserslautern, Germany
#plantscijobs #plantscijob
www.academics.de/jobs/w2-prof...

W3-Universitätsprofessur Stressresilienz von Pflanzen - RWTH Aachen University RWTH Aachen University bietet Stelle als W3-Universitätsprofessur Stressresilienz von Pflanzen in Aachen - jetzt bewerben!

Professorship Plant Stress Resilience. Aachen, Germany.
#plantscijobs #plantscijob
www.academics.de/jobs/w3-univ...