Eco Flick Lab

I love science communication and my job at Vanderbilt allows for plenty! From researching my own historical stories about evolution over the years at Vanderbilt to writing press releases for exciting research from my faculty colleagues, I get to do it all! I am especially proud of the twice-annual Evolutionary Studies – the Magazine that I produce.

Book Reviews

In 2018, I reviewed Mohamed Noor’s Live Long and Evolve for Leading Edge Magazine. I have recently returned to writing book reviews, including Peter and Rosemary Grant’s 40 Years of Evolution. Two upcoming reviews will appear in Evolutionary Studies – the Magazine, including pieces on Owen Jones’ Force of Nature and Ken Catania’s On the Art and Craft of Doing Science.

Press Releases

In my role as scientific coordinator, I do less manuscript writing and more news briefs on the work of other talented researchers. Most press releases that I have written are included in Evolutionary Studies – the Magazine, which I began in Spring 2022. I get especially excited when these stories are picked up by outlets like Phys.org, the Vanderbilt Hustler, and Vanderbilt Magazine. This list is not yet complete—see the Evolution at Vanderbilt website for additional work.

• Evolutionary Studies Initiative Receives NIH Training Grant for Computational Evolutionary Approaches to Disease. 12/5/25. ESI website.
• Vanderbilt Paleontology Graduate Student Brynn Wooten Brings Hell Pigs to the Forefront. 11/18/25. Arts and Science Research website.
• Giant Ground Sloth Extinction Led to Loss of Ecological Services. 10/22/25. ESI website.
• City Lights Are Rewriting the Calendar: Vanderbilt Researchers Show Artificial Light Extends Urban Growing Seasons. 9/23/25. ESI website.
• Annie Hatmaker Explores the Global Diversity of a Pathogenic Fungus. 8/18/25. ESI website.
• Vanderbilt Trainees Bring Evolution Education to Classrooms Across Tennessee. 6/6/25. ESI website.
• Vanderbilt’s Evolutionary Studies Initiative Honored with 2025 Friend of Darwin Award. 6/4/25. ESI website.
• Pilot Grants: Opening Doors to Fellowships and Beyond. 5/12/25. ESI website.
• A Conservative Defense: Downstream NFLs Resist Evolutionary Blitzes. 5/9/25. ESI website.
• Trainee Travel Grants Share Vanderbilt Research Worldwide. 5/1/25. ESI website.
• Big Science, Small Grants: ESI Pilot Funding Powers Research Across Disciplines. 4/18/25. ESI website.
• Castiglione Lab Discover Horses Run Faster by Ignoring an Ancient Mutation that Says ‘Stop’. 3/27/25. ESI website.
• Vanderbilt Researcher Finds Jewel Wasp Cocoons Can Withstand Cannibalism. 11/15/25. ESI website.
• Beyond the Thrifty Genotype: Examining Evolutionary Hypotheses for Modern Metabolic Health. 11/12/24. ESI website.
• Vanderbilt Alumnus Uncovers Feeding Strategies of Ancient Ediacaran Organisms. 10/22/24. ESI website.
• Mitochondrial DNA Evolution: New Study Reveals How Selfish mtDNA Evolve and Thrive. 9/20/24. ESI website.
• Evolved in the Lab, Found in Nature: Uncovering Hidden pH Sensing Abilities. 9/20/24. ESI website. Phys.org.
• Vanderbilt Researchers Find Warming Quickens Aging-Related Mortality in Mosquitoes. 9/19/24. ESI website. Phys.org
• Vanderbilt Anthropologist Explores How Different Childcare Models Affect Child Health in Working Families. 9/12/24. ESI website.
• Researchers Discover Wide Variation in Virulence of Non-Pathogenic Fungi. 9/11/24. ESI website.
• Graduate Student Sheds Light on Ancient Worms as Early Ecosystem Engineers. 9/10/24. ESI website.
• Researchers Discover the Evolution of Seasonal Anticipation in Cyanobacteria. 9/6/24. ESI website.
• Rediscovering the Lost Plesiosaur (Cast): Restoring Vanderbilt’s Natural History Museum. 8/27/24. ESI website. Story featured in VU Magazine and covered by The Hustler.
• Graduate Student Uncovers New Galactose Assimilation Pathway. 4/26/24. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Vanderbilt Researchers Flip the Script on Yeast Ecological Diversity. 4/25/24. ESI website.
• Ashley Rogers Speaks on Alexander Winchell and Scientific Racism. 4/2/24. ESI website.
• Beckman Scholar Charu Balamurugan Unveils Evolutionary Insights into Penicillium Secondary Metabolites. ESI website.
• Insect Immune Insights: Researchers Unveil Immune System Dynamics. 3/12/24. ESI website, Phys.org.
• Breaking the Mold: Kyle David’s Research Challenges Ecological Norms in Yeast Communities. 2/27/24. ESI website, Phys.org.
• Chancellor Diermeier visits the Evolutionary Studies Initiative. 1/24/24. ESI website.
• Sarah Worthan, Postdoc in Biological Sciences, Wins Prestigious Zuckerlandl Prize. 1/23/24. ESI website.
• Renowned Evolutionary Paleontologist Neil Shubin to Deliver Darwin Day Lecture. 1/23/24. ESI website.
• Twenty Years of Understanding Genetics in Literature and Society. 12/4/23. ESI website.
• National Center for Science Education Hosts Conference at Vanderbilt University. 7/19/23. ESI website.
• Perspectives on AI-Generated Art in Science. 4/7/23. Evolutionary Studies – the Magazine.
• Paleontology Graduate Student Uncovers Lessons from Microfossils of the Grand Canyon. 4/7/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Trio of Vanderbilt Researchers Identify Variable Outcomes in Experimental Evolution. 4/7/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• International Collaboration Uncovers Evolutionary History of Respiratory Virus in Argentina. 4/7/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Vanderbilt Researchers find Evidence for Evolutionary Constraints on Immunity. 4/7/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Vanderbilt Team finds Evolutionary Support for Induced Defenses. 4/7/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website. Phys.org
• Vanderbilt researcher finds evidence for ant caste systems driven by chemo-sensing responses. 4/3/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Scott Edwards, expert on the evolution of biodiversity, to deliver J. T. Scopes Lecture. 3/20/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• New outreach partnership with Dismas House. 3/16/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Joan Strassmann, expert on the evolution of cooperation, to deliver Evolutionary Studies seminar. 2/19/23. Research News VU website.
• Vanderbilt-led Group Discovers Divergent Function in Convergent Evolution of Form. 2/22/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Vanderbilt Researcher Identifies Modes of Natural Selection in Understudied Human Populations. 2/16/23. Also available in Spanish. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website. Phys.org
• Vanderbilt Anthropologist Discovers Lasting Effects from Disasters in Bangladesh. 1/26/23. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Richard Lenski, founder of the long-term evolution experiment, to deliver 2023 Darwin Day Lecture. 1/17/23. Research News VU website.
• Ogden lab discovers new interactions between viruses during dual infections. 12/13/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Vanderbilt Graduate Student Parses Out Differences in Virulence across the Aspergillus Genus. 12/6/22. Research News VU website.
• Fighting Misconceptions through Intentionally Designed Figures. 10/31/22. Research News VU website.
• Vanderbilt biologists discover genetic pathways linking the immune and circulatory systems of mosquitoes during infection. 9/7/2022. Research News VU website. Phys.org
• Associate professor Larisa DeSantis to give prestigious scientific talk in Ireland. 7/13/22. Research News VU website.
• Vanderbilt researchers bring paleoecology into the 21st century. 7/7/22. Vanderbilt News website.
• “The Hunger Games: E. coli edition” demonstrates how mutualism and cooperative behavior shape species. 5/20/22. Research News VU website. Phys.org
• Vanderbilt researchers develop new evolutionary approach for identifying proteins that functionally interact. 5/4/22. Research News VU website. Phys.org
• Nashville Earth Day Celebration at Centennial Park. 5/4/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Vanderbilt researchers suggest that complex bird songs might require large populations. 4/22/22. A&S news website.
• Trainees of ESI receive high praise. 4/8/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Vanderbilt researchers use new method to target potentially undiscovered beneficial therapeutic chemicals. 4/5/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website. Phys.org
• Medical researchers develop new methodology for molecular mechanisms of disease. 3/29/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• ESI group visits Coon Creek Science Center. 3/28/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Evolutionary Studies Initiative hosts Elisabeth Bik, top academic ethics sleuth, for virtual J.T. Scopes Lecture. 3/1/22. Research News VU website.
• Literature researchers identify attitudes toward genetics across 100 years of film and television. 2/28/22. Research News VU website. Phys.org
• Researchers aim to define host-parasite interactions by modeling the effects of coinfection on community dynamics. 2/14/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Microbiologists collaborate on new interdisciplinary research program. 2/13/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Graduate student to study biological evolution in Malaysia through ESI grant. 2/11/22. Research News VU website.
• Vanderbilt astronomers discover exceedingly rare star. 2/11/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website. Phys.org
• Patel Lab earns new grant to study evolutionary trade-offs between reproduction and aging. 2/4/22. Research News VU website.
• Seven awards given in inaugural Evolutionary Studies Initiative pilot grant program. 1/24/22. Evolutionary Studies Initiative website.
• Vanderbilt researchers combine paleontology and fluid physics to uncover Ediacaran nurseries. 1/7/22. Research News VU website. Phys.org
• Vanderbilt researcher outlines how whales’ sensory systems have evolved through imaging technology. 12/2/21. Research News VU website. Phys.org