LATEST NEWS

Applications are now open for the Undergraduate Diversity at Evolution program, which sends undergraduates interested in ecology, evolutionary biology, and related fields to the annual Evolution meeting. At the meeting, selected students will present a poster, receive mentoring, and participate in a career-oriented discussion panel. Awardees receive conference registration, round-trip airfare, accommodations, a meal stipend, and a ticket to the Super Social. 

Learn more and apply by January 29, 2024. 

The SSE Diversity Committee (DC) is now accepting applications for at least two to four new members of the committee starting in 2024. The DC works to support members from all backgrounds by broadening representation to the SSE Executive Council; pursuing initiatives that support historically excluded groups; and creating an inclusive, accessible environment at the annual Evolution meeting and in evolutionary biology in general. Applicants must be members of SSE and have attended at least one Evolution meeting in the past. The DC is especially in search of members who have experience in leading and completing successful projects related to equity and inclusion, even in challenging circumstances.

Learn more and apply by January 15, 2024 January 19, 2024.

Applications are now open for the 2024 Graduate Research Excellence Grant (GREG) R. C. Lewontin Award competition. These awards offer up to $2,500 USD to assist students in the first two years of their PhD programs. These grants are part of the Graduate Research Excellence Grants award program.

Learn more about how to apply.

Deadline: February 23, 2024

The SSE Education and Outreach Committee is pleased to announce the 2024 T.H. Huxley award, named in honor of Darwin's very public supporter, which recognizes and promotes the development of high-quality evolution education resources. If you have an interesting project or educational activity to share, consider applying for this award. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to apply. 

This award provides funding for an SSE member to present evolution education resources at an education-focused session or conference approved by the Huxley Committee (e.g., education session at the annual Evolution meeting or the annual National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) conference).

Applications are due February 1st, 2024. Learn more and apply here.

This award is awarded annually for an outstanding Ph.D. dissertation paper published in an issue of the journal Evolution during a given calendar year. Applications open in the fall and close January 31. The award comes with a $1000 honorarium. To be eligible for consideration, a manuscript must be based on graduate work of the primary author. The manuscript must have been published in a 2023 issue of the journal Evolution (Volume 77). This award includes a US $1000 honorarium, and will be awarded at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution. The recipient is invited to attend the annual meeting to receive the award. 

Deadline: January 31, 2024. Learn more and apply here.

SSE International Symposium for Mandarin Speakers in East and Southeast Asia

进化研究学会 (SSE)国际研讨会之“东亚及东南亚中文学者研讨会”

演化研究學會 (SSE)國際研討會之“東亞及東南亞中文學者研討會”

SSE International Symposium for Mandarin Speakers in East and Southeast Asia 
Saturday, 11 November, 10:00 - 15:15 China Standard Time (UTC+08:00)
Conducted via Zoom

This is a free bilingual symposium where participants will hear from featured speakers Bing Yang, Shengnan Zhang, Xin Dang, Yun Hsiao, Xianting Huang, Qi Liu, Kai Wei, and Shu-Miaw Chaw. Following the talks, join a discussion of the challenges and opportunities of doing evolutionary biology research in East and Southeast Asia.

Participants can gain insights on publishing in Evolution during a panel with Associate Editors Jen-Pan Huang and Suhua Shi, and the Evolution English Language Support Program editor Sishuo Wang on November 13 at 10:00 China Standard Time (UTC+08:00).

This symposium and panel are part of the SSE International Symposia Series. 

More information about the symposium speakers, schedule, and panel is available on the SSE website.

Register by November 10 for free to reserve your spot!

If you are unable to access the Google form above, please register via Qualtrics here.

进化研究学会 (SSE)国际研讨会之“东亚及东南亚中文学者研讨会”
11月11日，星期六，中国标准时间（UTC+08:00）10：00至15:15
Zoom线上举行

这是一个免费的双语研讨会，与会者将听到由杨炳，张胜男，党欣，萧昀，黄藓婷，刘琪
，魏凯和赵淑妙带来的学术报告。报告结束后，可以参与到关于在东亚和东南亚进行进化生物学研究的挑战和机遇的讨论。

与会者还可以参与到11月13日中国标准时间10:00（UTC+08:00）举办的交流会，与Evolution副主编黄仁磐和施苏华以及英语语言支持项目编辑王思硕交流学习，以了解如何在Evolution发表学术论文的相关信息。

本次研讨会及专家交流会都是进化研究学会 (SSE)国际研讨会系列的一部分。有关研讨会报告人、日程安排和专家交流会的更多信息，请访问进化研究学会 (SSE)的网站。

请于11月10日前免费注册以保留您的活动席位！

如果您无法访问上面的Google链接，请在此处通过Qualtrics注册。

演化研究學會 (SSE)國際研討會之“東亞及東南亞中文學者研討會”
11月11日，星期六，中國標準時間（UTC+08:00）10：00至15:15
Zoom線上舉行

這是一個免費的雙語研討會，與會者將聽到由楊炳，張勝男，黨欣，蕭昀，黃蘚婷，劉琪
，魏凱和趙淑妙帶來的學術報告。報告結束後，可以參與在東亞和東南亞進行演化生物學研究的挑戰和機會的討論。

與會者還可以參與11月13日中國標準時間10:00（UTC+08:00）舉辦的交流會，與Evolution副主編黃仁磐和施蘇華以及英語語言支持項目編輯王思碩交流學習，以了解如何在Evolution發表學術論文的相關資訊。

本次研討會及專家交流會都是演化研究學會 (SSE)國際研討會系列的一部分。有關研討會報告人、日程安排和專家交流會的更多信息，請訪問演化研究學會 (SSE)的網站。

請於11月10日前免費註冊以保留您的活動席位！

如果您無法訪問上面的Google鏈接，請在此處透過Qualtrics註冊。

The Evolution editorial team seeks Associate Editors to serve three-year terms beginning January 2024. Twenty editors will be selected and notified this fall. 

Associate Editors receive free membership in SSE for the duration of their term and free registration for the annual Evolution meeting.

We strongly encourage nominations and self-nominations of individuals who represent the full diversity of the evolutionary biology community, including (but not limited to) all aspects of identity and background, types of institution, geographic location, or scientific approach. 

To indicate your interest, provide your affiliation, research interests, and contact information in this short form.

Deadline: September 27, 2023

SSE is pleased to announce a weekly virtual seminar series featuring recipients of our Graduate Research Excellence Grants. Seminars will be held on Mondays at 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Eastern US time. Speakers will present 45-minute talks followed by 15 minutes for questions.

The first set of talks will feature nine recipients of the 2023 GREG R.C. Lewontin Awards:

October 2: Akshat Mall, University of Idaho
October 9: Jenna Palmisano, University of Central Florida
October 16: Sage Madden, University of California Davis
October 23: Nathalie Alomar, Yale University
October 30: Wout van der Heide, Cornell University
November 6: Erica Vong, University of Ottawa
November 13: Claire Williams, University of Nevada, Reno
November 27: Neil Balchan, Oklahoma State University
December 4: Faye Romero, University of Rochester

This series is organized by the Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC). Learn more and find the link to join the event here.

The SSE International Committee invites applications for the International Event Grants, which provide funding for international symposia, workshops, courses, and other events within the field of evolutionary biology, including virtual events. Our priority is to support events that benefit emerging communities in the field of evolutionary biology. The diversity of participants and invited speakers will be considered as a criterion for selection. 

Learn more and apply by October 31, 2023.

SSE is pleased to announce the call for speakers for the International Symposium for Mandarin Speakers from East and Southeast Asia on November 11, 2023. SSE invites Mandarin-speaking evolutionary biologists of all career stages from East and Southeast Asia to apply to share their research in this free, virtual event.

Instructions for how to apply can be found here. 

Deadline to apply: September 29, 2023

我们很高兴的宣布，进化研究学会 (SSE) 现正式为将于 2023 年 11 月 11 日举行的“东亚和东南亚中文学者国际研讨会”召集报告人。SSE真诚地邀请来自东亚和东南亚的，各个职业生涯阶段的中文进化生物学家，来申请在这个免费的线上研讨会中分享他们的研究成果。

有关如何申请的说明请关注这里。

申请截止日期：2023年9月29日

我們很高興的宣布，演化研究學會 (SSE) 現正式為將於 2023 年 11 月 11 日舉行的“東亞和東南亞中文學者國際研討會”召集報告人。 SSE真誠地邀請來自東亞和東南亞的，各個職業生涯階段的中文進化生物學家，來申請在這個免費的線上研討會中分享他們的研究成果。

有關如何申請的說明請關注這裡。

申請截止日期：2023年9月29日

SSE is now accepting nominations for the Dobzhansky Prize to recognize the accomplishments and future promise of an outstanding early-career evolutionary biologist. 

We seek nominees working in all areas of evolutionary biology, on any taxonomic group/system, using empirical and/or theoretical approaches. We hope the pool of nominees will reflect the many axes and components of diversity in the evolutionary biology community. We are specifically looking for candidates who take creative approaches to answering pressing questions in evolutionary biology. We welcome nominations of researchers around the globe.

The Dobzhansky Prize recipient presents the Dobzhansky Prize plenary at the annual Evolution meeting. The prize is accompanied by a 5,000 USD award. 

Submit your nomination by December 1, 2023. 

SSE is pleased to welcome Dr. Jason Wolf as Editor-in-Chief of Evolution. Dr. Wolf is Professor of Evolutionary Genetics in the Milner Centre for Evolution and Department of Life Sciences at the University of Bath. His research integrates theoretical, computational, and empirical quantitative and population genetic techniques to understand the evolutionary genetics of interactions across different levels of biological organization. 

Dr. Wolf will serve a three-year term as Editor-in-Chief, and succeeds Dr. Tracey Chapman. Thank you Dr. Chapman for all of your work, and welcome Dr. Wolf!

Read the latest articles in Evolution, or submit your research for publication.

Who are your evolutionary biology heroes? Who do you know whose conceptual advances, impactful publications, outreach and education efforts, mentorship and training, service to the community, or diversity and inclusion work has contributed to the evolutionary biology field and community? Maybe it’s you! Consider nominating yourself or someone else for the SSE Lifetime Achievement Award. Nominators will be asked to complete a short form describing the nominee’s contributions to the field and community. A detailed nomination letter is not required for the initial nomination. Learn more and submit your nomination by September 30!

The Evolution meeting organizers are pleased to issue this call for symposia proposals for the Third Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology, which will take place in Montreal, Canada, July 26-30, 2024.

The Congress merges the traditions of the participating societies: the European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB); the American Society of Naturalists (ASN); the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB); and the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE). The sextennial Congress takes the place of the ESEB and Evolution Meetings in 2024, and it builds on the success of the previous Congresses in Ottawa in 2012 and Montpellier in 2018. 

The structure of this Congress will be unique. Roughly 40% of talks will be structured into symposia, following the traditional ESEB format. The remaining 60% of talks will be structured into general sessions according to topic, following the traditional Evolution meetings format. The success of the joint meeting therefore depends on the strength and range of the symposia complementing the standard sessions. 

We are now asking members of all four participating societies to submit symposium proposals.  This is an opportunity to create a session that pushes your field forward and draws new researchers into its orbit. Symposia play a special role in bringing together researchers from disparate disciplines and backgrounds and generating new integrative perspectives. Symposia should transcend the conventional themes of standard meeting sessions. The deadline for proposals is September 1, 2023. 

Learn more and submit your proposal here.

The GREG Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards are to assist students in the later stages of their PhD programs. Funds can be used to enhance the scope of dissertation research, such as to conduct additional experiments or field work. Awards up to $3500 will be granted. 

Student SSE members who will defend after September 15, 2024 and are either 1) in at least their 3rd year of a >4-year doctoral degree program 2) in the 2nd year of a 3-year program, or 3) otherwise deemed “advanced” by a letter from their advisor or graduate director, are eligible. Students should also confirm that the proposed work is outside the scope of other funding currently held by either the student or their advisor. This award is not limited to students in the United States and we welcome applications from our international members. Applicants do not have to be enrolled in an evolutionary biology program to apply, but proposals must address a topic in evolutionary biology. 

Learn more and apply.

Deadline: October 2, 2023

Register now for the SSE International Symposium for South Asia!

The symposium will be conducted via Zoom on Wednesday, August 2nd, from 9:30 - 15:00 India Standard Time (IST). Registration is free but required.

This symposium and workshop are part of the SSE International Symposia Series. This symposium is organized in collaboration with the Indian Society of Evolutionary Biologists (ISEB). Participants will hear from featured speakers Vivek Keshri, Aritra Biswas, Mariam Mohammad Hashim, Pratibha Sanjenbam, Sudipta Tung, Ruchishree Konhar, Eapsa Berry, and Riddhiman Dhar. Following the talks, join a discussion of the challenges and opportunities of doing evolutionary biology research in South Asia.

Participants can gain insights on publishing in Evolution during a virtual workshop led by Associate Editors Kavita Jain, Sutirth Dey, and NG Prasad on August 3 at 10:00 IST. 

Learn more about the symposium speakers, schedule, and workshop. 

Register for free by July 31 for free to reserve your spot!

Congratulations to our two recipients of the 2023 W. D. Hamilton Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation, Arielle Fogel and James Gallagher! 

This year’s Hamilton Award symposium took place during the virtual portion of the Evolution meeting. Arielle presented “Mating-related barriers to gene flow shape ancestry patterns along hybrid baboon genomes.” James presented “Surviving the serenade: how conflicting natural and sexual selection drove rapid diversification of mating signals in an insect.” Both will receive 1000 USD and a one-year subscription to Evolution. 

If you are attending the in-person portion of Evolution 2023 in Albuquerque, NM, please join us for the 2023 SSE Annual Membership Business Meeting & Open Forum on Thursday, June 22 from 1:15 to 2:15 PM in San Miguel/Room 215. 

This year we will use our time to not only share updates on the society’s activities over the past year, but also to solicit ideas and feedback from members on how to better serve the global community of scientists that SSE aims to provide a forum for through its programs, conferences, and journals. The discussion will be led by members of the SSE Executive council, the International Committee, and the Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC).

On the list for discussion:
- future iterations of the recent International Symposium (organized by GSAC)
- virtual options for upcoming annual meetings, including next year’s joint Evolution meeting in Montreal (hosted in partnership with The European Society for Evolutionary Biology). 

Do you have ideas for how SSE can improve its positive impact, internationally? Have you participated in recent programs (e.g., EELS) or activities (e.g., mixers) sponsored by SSE to increase participation across the globe? What programs are working well and what else would you like to see happen? We want to hear from you! Please join us for this brief update and community discussion. Lunch not provided.

Congratulations to our 2023 R. C. Lewontin Early Award recipients: Nathalie Alomar, Neil Balchan, Tara Empson, Anjali Gupta, Matthew Hack, Azwad Iqbal, Juliana Jiranek, Gina Lucas, Jess Lund, Sage Madden, Akshat Mall, Quinn McCallum, Jenna Palmisano, Faye Romero, Marissa Sandoval, Fernando Torres, Wout van der Heide, Erica Vong, Claire Williams, and Maximiliano Zuluaga Forero! 

These awards provide up to 2500 USD to assist students in the early stages of their PhD programs. These grants are part of the Graduate Research Excellence Grants award program. 

We are pleased to announce the second SSE International Symposium, organized in collaboration with the Indian Society of Evolutionary Biologists (ISEB) and set for August 2, 2023. This event will be aimed at India and neighboring regions and will be conducted in English. We are now accepting applications for speakers.

The symposium will be followed by a workshop on how to publish articles in Evolution the following day. This workshop will be taught by the Evolution Associate Editors Kavita Jain (Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research), Sutirth Dey (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune), and NG Prasad (Indian Institute of  Science Education and Research Mohali).

SSE invites India-based scholars and those from neighboring regions to apply to be a speaker of this event. You do not have to be a member of either SSE or ISEB, but this is encouraged. If you are not a member of SSE, you can receive free or discounted membership through the Global Membership Assistance Program.

We aim to showcase the work on evolutionary biology of six early-career researchers (15-min talks) and two senior researchers (30-min talks) working in India and neighboring regions. All speakers will receive a USD 200 honorarium.

If you would like to participate as a speaker, please email us the following information as a single PDF to GSAC@evolutionsociety.org before June 30, 2023:

     - Motivation letter (1 page max.), please include:
             - Name 
             - Pronouns
             - Affiliation
             - Career stage
             - Tentative topic of the talk
             - Motivation to participate in the symposium
      - CV

Deadline: June 30, 2023

The speakers will be selected covering several axes of diversity to guarantee a fair representation of the regional community in terms of gender, geographic location, subdisciplines, and study systems. We will inform the results of this call in the first week of July. If you have any questions, please contact us at GSAC@evolutionsociety.org.

This event is organized by the SSE Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC) in collaboration with the Indian Society of Evolutionary Biologists, with support from the SSE Council and the SSE International Committee.

The SSE GSAC is looking for three new council members to join our 2024 cohort!

The GSAC represents student and postdoc interests to the SSE Council and facilitates interaction among students and postdocs, and between students, postdocs, and mentors. Our goal is to be a source of information for students and postdocs during their graduate school career and as they make career transitions, and to provide an early-career perspective to the rest of the SSE council. For example, recently we took a leading role in putting on the successful virtual International Symposia Series and the SSE Caregiver Award.

GSAC members must be graduate students at the time of application and members of SSE. (Learn more about how to join.) Applicants should be organized, possess leadership skills, and be interested in working with SSE Council and members to contribute to the Society. Many more details about our activities throughout the year can be found in our GSAC blog post on the SSE Community Blog. 

We strongly encourage those with non-traditional pathways to graduate school, those from non-R1 universities, and those from outside the United States to apply. GSAC is also committed to diverse representation, and we encourage applicants from historically excluded ethnic, gender, and socio-economic backgrounds. 

Visit the GSAC webpage for more information about how to apply. Deadline: July 26, 2023 (any time zone)

Congratulations to the finalists of the SSE W. D. Hamilton Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation: Maria Akopyan, Alicia L. Bruzos, Shyamsunder Buddh, Robert Driver, Arielle Fogel, Jay Gallagher, Nikunj Goel, Juanita Guiterrez-Valencia, Israt Jahan, Matthew Kustra, Brian Lerch, Benjamin Moran, Rosalyn Price-Waldman, Ryan Ridenbaugh, and Merlijn Staps! Come hear their talks in three sessions starting at 3:30 pm Eastern (GMT-4) on Saturday, June 3 at the virtual portion of the Evolution 2023 meeting.

SSE Presidential Symposium
Time does not heal all ills: The misuse of evolutionary biology as a driver of modern-day inequalities
Friday, June 2, 11:00 AM Eastern (GMT-4)

As evolutionary biologists, we engage in research and scholarship to better understand the world around us, whether it be the origin of life, its relatedness, or responses to environmental change. And through our mentoring and education we seek to equip our students with the tools they need to also examine the world through the lens of evolution and change. This commitment to understanding change in the world around us must also extend to intentional examination of the historical and contemporary impact of our field on society and human history, even if those conversations are uncomfortable or painful. The history of our field of evolutionary biology includes extensive entanglement with eugenics and white supremacy, and thus has served as a driver of social inequality. To this day, genetic research and the concept of genetic determinism are misused by white supremacists and distributed in the popular media. 

The focus of this symposium will be an examination of modern evolutionary genetic research and what it can, or cannot, tell us about variation, origins, and evolution. Speakers will address issues in three broad areas: i) the historical role of evolution as a promoter of inequality, ii) present-day challenges, and iii) best practices and future directions. The symposium will conclude with a moderated panel discussion including all speakers, who will address questions from the audience.

SSE Council is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Sarah "Sally" Otto.

Dr. Otto was selected for her countless important contributions to evolutionary biology as a researcher, mentor, educator, and activist. As an outstanding researcher, Dr. Otto’s empirical and theoretical work on the evolution of ploidy, sex, and recombination has moved the field forward. As a mentor and educator, she has provided rigorous and accessible training to the next generation of biologists. As a member of the scientific community and citizen of the world, she has served in leadership roles for several scientific societies (the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, the American Genetic Association, and SSE), co-founded the Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution, and directs the Liber Ero Fellowship Program. At every level, Dr. Otto has worked towards bettering the environment—scientifically and globally, individually and collaboratively. Her achievements have been recognized with a number of awards (including the Darwin-Wallace Medal from the Linnean Society, the Sewall Wright Award from ASN, the MacArthur Foundation "genius grant", National Academy of Sciences membership, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada), and we are delighted to honor her with the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023.

Dr. Otto will present the Lifetime Achievement Award talk during the virtual portion of the Evolution 2023 meeting on Friday, June 2 at 6:30 PM Eastern.

Congratulations to Dr. Jim Costa, recipient of the 2023 Gould Prize! This award recognizes efforts to advance public understanding of evolutionary science and its importance in biology, education, and everyday life. Dr. Costa was selected for his work to advance the public understanding of evolution and the history of evolutionary thinking, and for his work to promote biodiversity education and conservation through outreach and community engagement. Dr. Costa will present the Gould Prize Plenary the opening night of the in-person portion of the Evolution 2023 meeting. Learn more about Dr. Costa’s work and this award here.