Sara Helms Cahan
Curriculum Vitae
Current Position :
Associate Vice President for Research, Office of the Vice President for Research
Associate Professor, Department of Biology
University of Vermont
Areas of Specialization:
Social insect biology and evolution
Ecological genetics
Behavioral ecology
Physiological ecology
University address:
Department of Biology
Marsh Life Sciences 307A
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05405
Phone:
(802) 656-2962
Fax:
(802) 656-2914
E-mail:
scahan@uvm.edu
Education:
1999 Ph.D. Zoology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Co-advisors: Steven W. Rissing and Jennifer H. Fewell
Major field: Behavioral Ecology
1992 B.S. Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Professional Employment:
2023 – current Associate Vice President for Research, OVPR, University of Vermont
2022 - current Curator, Zadock Thompson Zoological Collection, University of Vermont
2010 - current Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of Vermont
2015 - 2021 Chair, Department of Biology, University of Vermont
2004 - 2010 Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Vermont
2000 - 2004 Postdoctoral Research Associate (with Laurent Keller)
University of Lausanne, Switzerland
2000 Post-doctoral Research Associate (with S. Bradleigh Vinson)
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University
1993 - 1999 Teaching Assistant
Department of Biology, Arizona State University
Grants:
2021-2023 National Science Foundation/EPSCoR, Minority-Serving Institution supplement to Track-2 award ($200,000); established relationship with new collaborator at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
2018-2023 National Science Foundation/EPSCoR, RII Track-2 FEC: From Genome to Phenome in a Stressful World: Epigenetic regulatory mechanisms mediating thermal plasticity in Drosophila. Awarded to S. Helms Cahan (PI), Seth Frietze, James Waters, Heather Axen, Nicholas Teets (co-PIs), Brent Lockwood (Faculty Associate) ($4,771,722).
2016 -2018 National Institutes of Health R03: Chagas disease transmission: Genomic studies of the kissing bug Triatoma infestans to enhance control strategies for a neglected tropical disease. Awarded to L. Stevens and S. Helms Cahan ($155,000).
2013-2014 National Science Foundation, Broadening Participation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) supplement to Dimensions of Diversity Program grant ($20,000).
2012-2017 National Science Foundation, Ecology of Infectious Diseases Program. “Modeling disease transmission using spatial mapping of vector-parasite genetics and vector feeding patterns.” Awarded to L. Stevens, D. Rizzo, L. Morrissey, S. Helms Cahan ($2,461,995).
2012-2015 National Science Foundation, Dimensions of Diversity Program. “Collaborative Research: The Climate Cascade: functional and evolutionary consequences of climate change on species, trait and genetic diversity in a temperate ant community.” Awarded to B. Ballif, R. R. Dunn, A. M. Ellison, N. J. Gotelli, S. Helms Cahan & N.J. Sanders (Total award $1,997,320; UVM portion $687,559).
2009-2013 National Science Foundation, Evolutionary Processes Program. “Genetic Architecture and Evolution of Reproductive Caste Determination in Harvester Ants.” ($800,000)
2008-2011 National Science Foundation, Population Biology Cluster. “Evolution of Major Geographic Variation in Social Behavior of a Desert Ant.” Awarded to K. R. Helms and S. Helms Cahan ($506,000).
2008-2009 Vermont Genetics Network Proteomics Facilities Award. “Pilot project: Regional variation in the behavior of ant queens as a model system.” Awarded to S. Helms Cahan and K. R. Helms ($4,991)
2006 University of Vermont Faculty Research Award. “Linkage mapping of genes involved in worker development in ants: a pilot study.” ($15,000)
2001-2006 Earthwatch Institute/Durfee Foundation Student Challenge Award
Project grants ($10,000 – $12,000 awarded per annum)
2002 Field Research Grant, Swiss Society of Naturalists ($3000)
1998 Travel Grant, International Union for the Study of Social Insects ($1,450)
Travel Grant, Arizona State University Dept. of Biology ($365)
Travel Grant, Arizona State University Graduate College ($300)
1996 Dissertation Improvement Grant, National Science Foundation ($9,980)
1994, 1995 Research Grants, Arizona State University Dept. of Zoology ($360, $300)
Teaching Experience:
2005 - current BioCore 012 Exploring Biology (4 credits), lecture and lab
BioCore 197 Undergraduate Teaching Assistantship program (1 credit)
Biology 095 First-year Teacher-Advisor-Program seminar “Natural History of the Family” (3 credits)
Biology 096 First-year Zoology seminar (1 credit)
Biology 2991 Internship: Natural History Collections (variable credit internship, intro and advanced levels)
Biology 276 Behavioral Ecology (3 credits)
Biology 277 Sociobiology (3 credits)
Biology 3991 Advanced Natural History Collections
Biology 381 Ecological Genetics (graduate colloquium)
Levels of Selection (graduate colloquium)
Foundational Readings in Social Evolution (graduate colloquium)
Honors 086 First-year Honors seminar: Knowledge in the Age of Big Data (3 credits)
Honors 196 Sophomore Honors seminar: Natural History of The Family (3 credits)
Refereed, Peer-Reviewed Publications (* denotes graduate student co-author, † denotes undergraduate student co-author):
1. Helms Cahan, S., Goodman, P.†, Grauer, J.A.†, 2023. Ecological and genetic distinctiveness of socially hybridogenetic lineages of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants at regional and local scales. Evolutionary Ecology 37:645-667.
2. Helms Cahan, S., Nguyen, A. D.*, Zhou, Y. 2022. Population genomics supports multiple hybrid zone origins of social hybridogenesis in Pogonomyrmex harvester ants. Evolution, evo14481.
3. Lima-Cordon, R. A.*, Helms Cahan, S., McCann, C.,† Dorn, P., Justi, S., Rodas, A., Monroy, M. C., Stevens, L. 2021. Insights from a comprehensive study of Trypanosoma cruzi: a new mitochondrial clade restricted to North and Central America and genetic structure of TcI in the region. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 15:e0010043. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010043
4. Stevens, L., Lima-Cordón, R. A.*, Helms Cahan, S., Dorn, P., Monroy, C., Axen, H. J., Nguyen, A.*, Hall, Y., Rodas, A., Justi, S. 2021. Catch me if you can: Under-detection of Trypanosoma cruzi (Kinetoplastea: Trypanosomatida) infections in Triatoma dimidiata s.l. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) from Central America. Acta Tropica 224:106130. DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106130
5. Lecheta, M. C., Awde, D. N., O'Leary, T.*, Unfried, L. N.*, Jacobs, N. A., Whitlock, M. H., Mccabe, E., Powers, B., Bora, K., Waters, J. S., Axen, H. J., Frietze, S., Lockwood, B. L., Teets, N. M., Helms Cahan, S. 2020. GWAS and transcriptomics to identify the molecular underpinnings of thermal stress responses in Drosophila melanogaster. Frontiers in Genetics 11: article 658.
6. Hanley, J.*, Rizzo, D., Stevens, L., Helms Cahan, S., Dorn, P., Morrissey, L., Rodas, A., Orantes, L.*, Monroy, M. C. 2020. Novel Evolutionary Algorithm Identifies Interactions Driving Infestation of Triatoma dimidiata, a Chagas Disease Vector. Amer. J. Trop. Med. Hygiene 103:735-744.
7. Helms Cahan, S., Orantes, L.C.*, Wallin, K., Rizzo, D. M., Stevens, L., Dorn, P. L., Rodas, A. G., Monroy, C. 2019. Residual survival and local dispersal drive reinfestation by Triatoma dimidiata following insecticide application in Guatemala. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 74:104000.
8. Nguyen, A. D.*, Brown, M.†, Zitnay, J.†, Helms Cahan, S., Gotelli, N. J., Arnett, A., Ellison, A. A. 2019. Trade-offs in cold physiology at the northern range edge of the common woodland ant Aphaenogaster picea. The American Naturalist 194:E151-163.
9. Lau, M. K., Ellison, A. A., Nguyen, A. D.*, Penick, C., DeMarco, B. B., Gotelli, N. J., Sanders, N. J., Dunn, R., Helms Cahan, S. 2019. Draft Aphaenogaster genomes expand our view of ant variation across climate gradients. PeerJ 7:e6447.
10. Orantes, L.*, C. Monroy, P. L. Dorn, L. Stevens, D. Rizzo, L. Morissey, J. P. Hanley*, B. Richards, A. G. Rodas, K. F. Wallin and S. Helms Cahan 2018. Uncovering vector, parasite, blood meal and microbiome patterns from mixed-DNA specimens of the Chagas Disease vector Triatoma dimidiata. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 12:e0006730.
11. Justi, S. A., L. Stevens, S. Helms Cahan, C. Monroy, R. Lima*, P. L. Dorn 2018. Vectors of Diversity: Genome wide diversity across the geographic range of the Chagas disease vector Triatoma dimidiata (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 120:144-150.
12. Waldron, A. L.*, S. Helms Cahan, C. S. Francklyn, A. M. Ebert 2017. A single Danio rerio hars gene encodes both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial Histidyl tRNA Synthetases. PLoS One 12:e0185317.
13. Nguyen, A. D.*, K. Pinder†, S. Resendez†, J. D. Pustilnik†, N. J. Gotelli, J. D. Parker and S. Helms Cahan 2017. Effects of desiccation and starvation on thermal tolerance and the cellular stress response in forest ants. Journal of Comparative Physiology part B 187:1107-1116.
14. Diamond, S. E., L. Chick*, C. A. Penick, L. M. Nichols, S. Helms Cahan, R. R., Dunn, A. A. Ellison, N. J. Sanders, N. J. Gotelli 2017. Heat tolerance predicts the importance of species interaction effects as the climate changes. Integrative and Comparative Biology 57:112-120.
15. Helms Cahan, S. A. D. Nguyen*, J. Stanton-Geddes, C. Penick, Y. Hernáiz-Hernández, B. DeMarco and N. J. Gotelli, 2017. Modulation of the heat shock response is associated with acclimation to novel temperatures but not adaptation to climatic variation in the ants Aphaenogaster picea and A. rudis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - part A 204:113-120.
16. Diamond, S.E., L. M. Nichols, S. L. Pelini, C. Penick, S. Helms Cahan, G. Barber, R. R. Dunn, Aaron M. Ellison, N. J. Sanders, and N. J. Gotelli, 2016. Climate warming destabilizes forest ant communities. Science Advances 2:e1600842.
17. Stanton-Geddes, J., A. D. Nguyen*, L. Chick*, J. Vincent, M. Vangala, R. R. Dunn, A. M. Ellison, N. J. Sanders, N. J. Gotelli, and S. Helms Cahan 2016. Thermal reactionomes reveal divergent responses to thermal extremes in warm and cool-climate ant species. BMC Genomics DOI: 10.1186/s12864-016-2466-z.
18. Nguyen, A. D.*, N. Gotelli and S. Helms Cahan, 2016. Sequence, cis-regulatory evolution and expression profile of ant heat shock proteins. BMC Evolutionary Biology DOI: 10.1186/s12862-015-0573-0.
19. Muscedere, M., S Helms Cahan, K. R. Helms, and J. F. Traniello, 2016. Geographic and life-history variation in ant queen colony founding correlate with brain amine levels. Behavioral Ecology 27:271-278.
20. Smith, C. R., S. Helms Cahan, C. Kemena, S. G. Brady, W. Yang, E. Bornberg-Bauer, T. Eriksson, J. Gadau, M. Helmkampf, D. Gotzek, M. O. Miyakawa, A. Suarez, and A. Mikheyev, 2015. How do genomes create novel phenotypes? Insights from the loss of the worker caste in ant social parasites. Molecular Biology and Evolution 32:2919-2931.
21. Gotzek, D., H. J. Axen*, A. Suarez, S. Helms Cahan, and D. Shoemaker, 2015. Global invasion history of the Tropical Fire Ant, Solenopsis geminata: A stowaway on the first global trade routes. Molecular Ecology 24:374-388.
22. Herrmann, M.* and S. Helms Cahan 2014. Inter-genomic sexual conflict drives antagonistic coevolution in harvester ants. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 281:20141771.
23. Helms Cahan, S and K. R. Helms 2014. Variation in social structure alters queen body mass and productivity in the desert seed-harvester ant Messor pergandei. Insectes Sociaux 61:153-161.
24. Axen, H. J.*, A. Wildermuth† and S. Helms Cahan 2014. Environmental filtering of foraging strategies mediates patterns of coexistence in the fire ants Solenopsis geminata, Solenopsis xyloni, and their interspecific hybrids. Ecological Entomology 39:290-299.
25. Helms, K.R., N. J. Newman* and S. Helms Cahan 2013. Regional variation in queen and worker aggression in incipient colonies of the desert ant Messor pergandei. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67:1563-1573.
26. Helms Cahan, S. and E. Gardner-Morse† 2013. Emergence of reproductive division of labor in forced queen groups of the ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus. Journal of Zoology 291:12-22.
27. Abbott, R. et al. (I am one of 40 co-authors), 2013. Hybridization and Speciation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 26:229-246.
28. Zhou, Y. and S. Helms Cahan 2012. A novel family of terminal-repeat retrotransposon in miniature (TRIM) in the genome of the red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus. PLoS One 7:e53401.
29. Helms Cahan, S. and K. R. Helms 2012. Relatedness does not explain geographic variation in queen cooperation in the seed-harvester ant Messor pergandei. Insectes Sociaux 59:579-585.
30. Helms, K. R. & S. Helms Cahan 2012. Large scale regional variation in cooperation, conflict, group size, and cooperative breeding among queens of the desert ant Messor pergandei. Animal Behaviour 84:499-507.
31. Helms Cahan, S., Graves, C. J.†, Brent, C. S., 2011. Intergenerational effect of maternal juvenile hormone on offspring in Pogonomyrmex harvester ants. Journal of Comparative Physiology B.181:991-999.
32. Helms Cahan, S., Daly, A. M.†, Schwander, T., Woods, H. A. 2010. Genetic caste determination does not reduce colony growth rates in Pogonomyrmex harvester ants. Functional Ecology 24:301-309.
33. Helms Cahan, S., Julian, G. E. 2010. Shift in frequency-dependent selection across the life-cycle in obligately interbreeding harvester ant lineages. Evolutionary Ecology 24:359-374.
34. Helms, K. R. and S. Helms Cahan, 2009. Divergence in mating flight patterns of the seed-harvester ant Pogonomyrmex rugosus Emery, (1895) in the western Mojave Desert. Myrmecological News 13:15-17.
35. Schwander, T.*, Helms Cahan, S., S. Suni*, Keller, L. 2008. Mechanisms of reproductive isolation between an ant species of hybrid origin and its parents. Evolution 62:1635-1643.
36. Schwander, T.*, Humbert, J.-Y., Brent, C. S., Helms Cahan, S., Chapuis, L.†, Renai, E.†, Keller, L. 2008. Maternal effect on female caste determination in a social insect. Current Biology 18:265-269.
37. Schwander, T*., Keller, L., Helms Cahan, S. 2007. Two alternate mechanisms contribute to the persistence of interdependent lineages in Pogonomyrmex harvester ants. Molecular Ecology 16:3533-3543.
38. Schwander, T.*, Helms Cahan, S., Keller, L. 2007. Characterization and distribution of Pogonomyrmex harvester ant lineages with genetic caste determination. Molecular Ecology 16:367-387.
39. Helms Cahan, S. Julian, G. E., Schwander, T.*, Keller, L. 2006. Reproductive isolation between the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex rugosus and two lineages with genetic caste determination. Ecology 87:2160-2170.
40. Julian, G. E., Helms Cahan, S. 2006. Behavioral differences between Pogonomyrmex rugosus and two dependent lineages (H1/H2). Ecology 87:2207-2214.
41. Schwander, T.*, Helms Cahan, S., Keller, L. 2006. Genetic caste determination in Pogonomyrmex harvester ants imposes costs during colony founding. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 19:402-409.
42. Helms Cahan, S., Rissing, S.W. 2005. Variation in queen size across a behavioral transition zone in the ant Messor pergandei. Insectes Sociaux 52:84-88.
43. Helms Cahan, S., Julian, G. E., Rissing, S. W., Schwander, T.*, Parker, J. D., Keller, L. 2004. Loss of phenotypic plasticity explains genotype-caste association in harvester ants. Current Biology 14: 2277-2282.
44. Parker, J. D., Ziemba, R. E., Helms Cahan, S., Rissing, S. W. 2004. An hypothesis-driven molecular phylogenetics exercise for college biology students. Biomedical and Molecular Biology Education 32:108-114.
45. Helms Cahan, S., Fewell, J. H. 2004. Division of labor and the evolution of task sharing in queen associations of the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex californicus. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 56:9-17.
46. Helms Cahan, S., Keller, L. 2003. Complex hybrid origin of genetic caste determination in harvester ants. Nature 424:306-309.
47. Helms Cahan, S., Vinson, S. B. 2003. Reproductive division of labor between hybrid and non-hybrid offspring in a fire ant hybrid zone. Evolution 57:1562-1570.
48. Helms Cahan, S., Parker, J. D., Rissing, S. W., Johnson, R. A., Polony, T. S., Weiser, M.D., Smith, D.R. 2002. Extreme genetic differences between queens and workers in hybridizing Pogonomyrmex harvester ants. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 269:1871-1877.
49. Helms Cahan, S., Blumstein, D.T., Sundström, L., Liebig, J. and Griffin, A. 2002. Social trajectories and the evolution of social behavior. Oikos 96:206-216.
50. Helms Cahan, S., 2001. Ecological variation across a behavioral transition zone in the ant Messor pergandei. Oecologia 129:629-635.
51. Helms Cahan, S. 2001. Co-operation and conflict in ant foundress associations: insights from geographical variation. Animal Behaviour 61:819-825.
52. Cahan, S. and Julian, G. E. 1999. Fitness consequences of cooperative colony founding in the leaf-cutter ant Acromyrmex versicolor. Behavioral Ecology 10:585-591.
53. Julian, G.E. and Cahan, S. 1999. Undertaking specialization in the desert leaf-cutter ant, Acromyrmex versicolor. Animal Behaviour 58:437-442.
54. Cahan, S., Carloni, E., Liebig, J., Pen, I. and Wimmer, B. 1999. Causes and consequences of sociality. Ethology Ecology and Evolution 11: 85-87.
55. Cahan, S., Helms, K. R. and Rissing, S. W. 1998. An abrupt transition in colony founding behaviour in the ant Messor pergandei. Animal Behaviour 55:1583-1594.
Work in progress:
Manuscripts in preparation:
Awde, D., Teets, N. J., Unfried, L.*, Helms Cahan, S., Lockwood, B. L. Plasticity and the nature of thermal stress: Review and synthesis. First draft completed, for Functional Ecology.
Helms Cahan, S., Stoloff, A.†,Bora, K., Brown, C.†, Flanagan, C.†, Lockwood, B. L. Costs of embryonic thermal stress and the evolution of developmental resilience in Drosophila melanogaster. Draft 50% completed, for Journal of Experimental Biology.
Invited Seminars/Papers:
2022 International Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects, San Diego, CA (symposium speaker, + co-author on student invited symposium presentation)
University of California Riverside, Dept of Entomology (invited seminar)
2021 Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting (invited symposium speaker, virtual conference)
2020 Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA (virtual, departmental seminar)
2018 International Union for the Study of Social Insects International Congress (invited symposium speaker)
University of New Hampshire
2017 Entomological Society of America Annual meeting, invited symposium speaker
Department of Plant Biology, University of Vermont
2014 Entomological Society of America Annual meeting, invited symposium speaker
2010 International Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects, Copenhagen, Denmark (invited talk)
2009 Boston University
2008 University of Nevada, Las Vegas
2007 University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2006 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Invited Symposium
2005 University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
2004 University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL
2003 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Invited Symposium (G.E. Julian and S. Helms Cahan)
SUNY StonyBrook, NY
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
2002 University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2001 Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting, Invited Symposium (J.H. Fewell and S. Helms Cahan)
2000 University of Würzburg, Germany
University of Lausanne, Switzerland
University of Houston, TX
Contributed papers:
2022 International Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (student poster)
2020 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology annual meeting, Austin, TX (contributed talk)
2015 Conference on Biological Stoichiometry, Peterborough, Canada (poster)
Ecological Society of America annual meeting (poster)
2014 Entomological Society of America Annual meeting, Baltimore, MD (1 student oral presentation, 1 student poster)
Society of the Study of Evolution annual conference, Raleigh, NC (two contributed talks, two posters)
2013 Arthropod Genomics annual conference, South Bend, IN (poster)
2012 International Union for the Study of Social Insects North American section meeting, Greensboro, NC (1 talk: M. Herrmann & S. Helms Cahan; 3 posters: Y. Hernáiz-Hernández & S. Helms Cahan; A. Nguyen, S. Helms Cahan & N. Gotelli; S. Helms Cahan & E. Gardner-Morse)
2011 EU FRoSPects workshop: Hybridization and Speciation, Newtown, UK (contributed topic proposal, selected for inclusion in published manuscript).
2010 International Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects, Copenhagen, Denmark (1 talk, with K. R. Helms, 1 poster, with H. J. Axen and L. Keller)
2009 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN (S. Helms Cahan & K. R. Helms)
Ant Genomics Consortium Workshop, Tempe, Arizona (oral presentation)
2008 International Union for the Study of Social Insects North American section meeting (2 talks: S. Helms Cahan, A. M. Daly, & T. Schwander; and H. J. Axen, C. Mallon & S. Helms Cahan)
Society for the Study of Evolution Annual Meeting (H. Axen, C. Mallon, & S. Helms Cahan)
Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting (2 posters: P. S. Goodman, S. Helms Cahan & C. Danforth; and J. Glenister, C. Danforth & S. Helms Cahan)
2007 Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting (P. S. Goodman, S. Helms Cahan & R. Rajbhandari)
2006 International Union for the Study of Social Insects International
Congress (2 posters: K. P. O’Connor, S. Helms Cahan & K. R. Helms; Julian, G. E. & S. Helms Cahan)
Society for the Study of Evolution Annual Meeting (T. Schwander, L. Keller & S. Helms Cahan)
2005 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
2003 Society for the Study of Evolution Annual Meeting
INSECTS European Union Network Midterm Meeting, Germany
2002 International Union for the Study of Social Insects International Congress, Sapporo, Japan (with J. H. Fewell)
2000 International Society for Behavioral Ecology
Social Systems and Population Genetics Conference, La Sage, Switzerland
1999 Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting.
Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting (G.E. Julian and S. Cahan)
Murray J. Littlejohn Symposium (with J.H. Fewell)
University Service
Faculty representative, Federal Demonstration Partnership (2024 – current)
Member of College of Arts and Sciences Academic Planning and Budget committee (Spring 2023)
Member of search committee for TT faculty in Plant Biology (2022-23)
Member of search committee for TT faculty in Environmental Engineering (2022-23)
Member of College of Arts and Sciences Metrics Operationalization Working group (2022-23)
Interim Curator, Zadock Thompson Zoological Collection, University of Vermont (2022-current)
Member of search committee for College of Arts and Sciences Business Operations Administrator staff position (2021)
Chair, Department of Biology (2016 – 2021)
Member of the University Incentive-based Budgeting Steering committee (2018 – 2019)
Member of search committee for TT faculty in Environmental Engineering (2018, 2019)
Member of the College of Arts and Sciences Diversity Taskforce (2017-2021)
Member of search committee for TT faculty in Plant and Soil Science (2017)
Member of the College of Arts and Sciences Academic Planning and Budget Committee (Spring 2016)
Member of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Standards committee, 2012 - 2015 (elected position)
Interim Chair, Department of Biology (Fall 2015)
Co-director of the Integrated Biological Sciences program, 2010 – 2016
Member of University Committee on Teacher Education, 2009-2011
Member of College of Arts and Sciences Honors Committee, 2008-2011 (elected position)
Member of Faculty Research Awards committee, 2007-2008
Member of Faculty Development Awards committee, 2006-2008
Member of John Dewey Honors Program Advisory Council, 2005-2008
Member of Biology Department Advisory Committee, 2005-2006
Member of Biology Department Graduate Affairs Committee, 2005-2006
Faculty Advisor, Zoology, Environmental Sciences and Biology Network, 2005-2006
Faculty Advisor, tri-Beta National Biology Honors Society, 2006-2012
Post-doctoral advisor for:
Yihong Zhou (2010-2013)
John Stanton-Geddes (co-mentored with N. Gotelli, 2013-2014)
Ph.D. Advisor for:
Heather Axen (graduated August 2011)
Fernando Gelin (graduated May 2014)
Michael Herrmann (graduated May 2016)
Andrew Nguyen (co-advised with N. Gotelli, graduated May 2017)
Lucia Orantes (co-advised with K. Wallin, graduated October 2017)
Ben Camber
Daniel Munteanu
M.S. Advisor for:
Trevor Manendo (graduated May 2008)
Yainna Hernáiz-Hernández (graduated May 2015)
Katie Miller (NSF GRFP Fellow 2014-2016, graduated May 2018)
Jessica Cole (co-advised with A. Brody, graduating Dec. 2022)
Jacob Sorrentino
Current Ph.D. Committee Member for:
Matt Futia, Biology
Thomas O’Leary, Biology
Maia Austin, Biology
Anna Schmidt, Biology
Current MS Committee member for:
Kylie Finnegan, Biology
Jacqueline Guillemin, Biology
Service to Scientific Community:
Chair, North American Section of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects Social Media committee (2019 - 2023)
President, North American Section of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI; 2018-2019)
Associate editor, Evolutionary Ecology (2006-current)
Member of Advisory Council of AMNH Southwestern Research Station (2005-2007)
Journal Referee for: American Naturalist, Animal Behaviour, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Biology Letters, Current Biology, Ethology, Evolution, Insectes Sociaux, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Molecular Ecology, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution, Naturwissenschaften
Member of NSF Evolutionary Ecology grant proposal review panel, spring 2010
Member of NSF Animal Behavior grant proposal review panel, fall 2010
Member of NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity grant proposal review panel, summer 2013
Member of NSF Evolutionary Processes pre-proposal review panel, spring 2014
Professional Memberships:
Animal Behavior Society
American Society of Naturalists
Entomological Society of America
Genetics Society of America
International Society for Behavioral Ecology
International Union for the Study of Social Insects