Evolution at Princeton

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EVOLUTION AT PRINCETON

 


 

 

 

 

 

 


Anthropology

Chemistry

Chemical Engineering

Computer Science

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Electrical Engineering

Geosciences

Institute for Integrative Genomics

Molecular Biology

Psychology Dept.

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evolution is the core concept in biology, tying together findings from all biological disciplines into a coherent picture of the history of life on earth. The study of evolution is thus a broad and deep discipline, encompassing the study of molecules and the origins of life, the causes and consequences of mass extinctions, the structure, function and evolution of genomes and, of course, the evolution of organismal behavior and appearance.

Faculty and students in several departments across campus (see list at left) pursue many topics in evolution in an interactive setting. The study of evolution at Princeton is notable because of the strong emphasis on studying evolutionary phenomena at all biological levels, from single molecules to populations. There is extensive opportunity for students interested in pursuing interdisciplinary studies of evolutionary biology at Princeton.

The following is a list of Princeton faculty whose research has an evolutionary component:

Jeanne Altmann: Behavioral ecology and life history evolution

Stuart Altmann: Behavioral ecology and models of adaptive behavior

John Bonner: The evolution of development, especially in social amoebae

David Botstein: Experimental evolution in yeast on a genomic scale

Jim Broach: Gene expression and directed evolution in the yeast S. cerevisiae

Curtis Callan: Theoretical studies of transcription factor binding site evolution

Ted Cox:  The E. coli fitness landscape

Charles Dismukes: Origin and evolution of oxygenic phototrophic metabolism

Andrew Dobson: Evolution of infectious diseases and host responses

Maitreya Dunham: Experimental evolution of Saccharomyces yeasts

Lynn Enquist: Comparative host-virus interactions of alpha-herpesvirus

Jacques Fresco: Origin and evolution of the genetic code

Elizabeth Gavis: Phylogenetic comparisons to discover structural mRNA features

Asif A Ghazanfar: Neuro-cognitive evolution of vocal communication in primates

Peter Grant: Ecology, evolution, behavior, speciation, natural selection

Rosemary Grant: Evolutionary ecology, hybridization, speciation

Michael Hecht: Protein construction by rational design and molecular evolution

Henry Horn: Adaptive significance of morphology and behavior

Michaela Hau: Evolution of physiological adaptation

Claire Kremen: Biogeography and conservation of evolutionary radiations

Gerta Keller: Evolution and mass extinction over the past 350 million years

Leonid Kruglyak: Genomic studies of evolution in humans, dogs and yeast

Laura Landweber: Early molecular evolution of genomes and the genetic code

Simon Levin: Evolution of disease and evolutionary ecology

Manuel Llinas: Experimental evolution in Plasmodium falciparum

Alan Mann: Archaeology and evolution of modern humans

Tullis Onstott: Diversity of microbial life in extreme subsurface environments

Dan Rubenstein: Evolution of behavior

Burton Singer: Evolution of host-parasite relationships

David L. Stern: Evolution and development, genetics of polyphenisms

Saeed Tavazoie: Comparative genomic & computational studies of biological networks

Olga Troyanskaya: Gene and chromosome duplication in evolution and carcinogenesis

Samuel Wang: Biophysical principles of brain evolution

Bess Ward: Diversity of microbes involved in biogeochemistry of the nitrogen cycle

Ron Weiss: Directed evolution to engineer synthetic biological networks

Martin Wikelski: Evolution of physiological systems of organisms

David Wood: Applied evolution of new self-modifying proteins

 

 

 

 

Image of Magicada © Harald Schrader. Used with permission of the artist.
Webpage comments to Marilyn McMullen
Updated:March 2006