SYMPOSIA
Most submitted talks will be scheduled into concurrent sessions (rather than symposia), and will be organized by topic and arranged according to what is submitted. These concurrent sessions will be outlined closer to the conference. A select number of society sponsored symposia will be held at either the in-person or virtual conference, and are outlined below.
Virtual meeting plenaries (May 21-22)
IDEA Award Plenary
Professor Maurine Neiman has spent her career expanding access and inclusion in the evolutionary biology community worldwide. Her impact through science advocacy and communication has been broad and sustained. She has paired her scientific expertise with public-facing vaccine education, helping bring clear, evidence-based messages to wide audiences. She has also used major editorial platforms to open doors for more people to participate fully in our field. As an editor at the Royal Society’s Proceedings B, Dr. Neiman helped build practices that widen participation in publishing and professional networks, with particular attention to creating meaningful opportunities for early-career scientists internationally. Across all of her efforts, she has been a visible, effective champion for a more welcoming and accessible evolution community—one where more scientists can contribute, be heard, and thrive.
2025 Lifetime Achievement Plenary
Naomi Pierce
2026 Lifetime Achievement Plenary
Sam Scheiner
Virtual meeting symposia (May 21-22)
SSE Presidential Symposium - Navigating Uncertainty: Individual Resilience and Collective Action in Evolutionary Biology
This year’s SSE Presidential Symposium will consist of two linked sessions designed to address the current climate of uncertainty surrounding federal funding and its implications for evolutionary biology. Together, these sessions are designed to move from personal grounding to community-level strategy, offering both immediate support and longer-term vision.
Part 1: Recommendations for the Community
Lightning Talks from Past SSE Presidents and Leaders in the Field
May 21, 9:00 AM - 10:10 AM Eastern
This session will feature past SSE Presidents and leaders in the field, each giving a 5-minute lightning talk offering concrete, actionable ideas for maintaining research programs, supporting trainees, and strengthening the field during periods of funding constraint. The emphasis will be on practical recommendations at multiple scales—individual researchers, departments, universities, the society, and the field as a whole. There will be a 30-minute Q&A following the talks.
Speakers:
Part 2: Recommendations for the Individual
Interactive Workshop Led by Leadership Coach Nélia Viveiros
Led by leadership coach Nélia Viveiros, EdD, LLB, this session will focus on how scientists can respond constructively, creatively, and sustainably in the face of instability. The presentation and breakout rooms will provide participants with tools for managing uncertainty, maintaining clarity of purpose, and identifying personal strategies for resilience and forward movement.
Part 1: Recommendations for the Community
Lightning Talks from Past SSE Presidents and Leaders in the Field
May 21, 9:00 AM - 10:10 AM Eastern
This session will feature past SSE Presidents and leaders in the field, each giving a 5-minute lightning talk offering concrete, actionable ideas for maintaining research programs, supporting trainees, and strengthening the field during periods of funding constraint. The emphasis will be on practical recommendations at multiple scales—individual researchers, departments, universities, the society, and the field as a whole. There will be a 30-minute Q&A following the talks.
Speakers:
- Prothama Manna: What Trainees Need in Uncertain Times: Paths to Resilient Science
- Mohamed Noor: How to ask for help in uncertain times
- Ruth Shaw: Realigning scholarly evaluation to support scientists' agency
- Joseph Graves: What Departments Can/Must Do to Support Junior Faculty in an Anti-Science Climate
- Scott Edwards: Make your science indispensable: expanding your network and showcasing your research
- Emily Josephs: A snapshot of current US federal science funding
- Alison Davis Rabosky: Museums as a vehicle of hope
Part 2: Recommendations for the Individual
Interactive Workshop Led by Leadership Coach Nélia Viveiros
Led by leadership coach Nélia Viveiros, EdD, LLB, this session will focus on how scientists can respond constructively, creatively, and sustainably in the face of instability. The presentation and breakout rooms will provide participants with tools for managing uncertainty, maintaining clarity of purpose, and identifying personal strategies for resilience and forward movement.
SSE - Virtual SYMPOSIUM/Research GrouP: Cross-disciplinary approaches for understanding budding speciation
Organizers: Bruno do Rosario Petrucci and Matheus Januario
Description:
Budding, or asymmetric speciation, is a speciation mode where the mother species persists, instead of dissolving into two new lineages. Budding speciation is widely recognized in paleontology but remains inconsistently incorporated across most areas of evolutionary biology focused on living organisms. This working group is novel in uniting researchers from macroevolution, phylogenetics, paleontology, phylodynamics, and population genetics to build the first truly cross-disciplinary joint effort for understanding how budding affects our view of the tree of life. By integrating theory, fossil data, molecular phylogenies, and emerging modeling approaches, our symposium will synthesize perspectives that are often insularized within each respective field, creating a shared conceptual foundation for studying asymmetric speciation.
Description:
Budding, or asymmetric speciation, is a speciation mode where the mother species persists, instead of dissolving into two new lineages. Budding speciation is widely recognized in paleontology but remains inconsistently incorporated across most areas of evolutionary biology focused on living organisms. This working group is novel in uniting researchers from macroevolution, phylogenetics, paleontology, phylodynamics, and population genetics to build the first truly cross-disciplinary joint effort for understanding how budding affects our view of the tree of life. By integrating theory, fossil data, molecular phylogenies, and emerging modeling approaches, our symposium will synthesize perspectives that are often insularized within each respective field, creating a shared conceptual foundation for studying asymmetric speciation.
SSB - ERNST MAYR AWARD SYMPOSIUM
The Ernst Mayr Award is given to the presenter of the outstanding student talk in the field of systematics at the annual meetings of the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB). This is SSB's premier award, and is judged by the quality and creativity of the research completed over the course of the student's Ph.D. program. The application to become a Mayr award finalist is part of abstract submission for the annual meeting, following registration. Applicants must check a box during submission of an abstract to the virtual talk submission module. For more information, see here.
Organizer: SSB Awards Director
Organizer: SSB Awards Director
SSE - W.D. HAMILTON AWARD SYMPOSIUM
The W. D. Hamilton Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation will be given to a current or very recent graduate student who presents an outstanding talk based on their graduate work at the annual meeting. Finalists will present their talks during the Hamilton Award symposium during the virtual meeting. The application to become a Hamilton award finalist is part of abstract submission for the annual meeting, following registration. Applicants must check a box during submission of an abstract to the virtual talk submission module. For more information, see here.
ASN - Putting mutations in context: the genomic and environmental impacts on the distribution of fitness effects of new mutations
Summary:
Mutations are the ultimate source of heritable variation for the maintenance and generation of biodiversity. Therefore, they are important across evolution, ecology, and behavior and affect all organisms. The effects of new mutations on fitness have long been considered primarily deleterious. However, recent work using new methods of estimating the distribution of mutation effects on fitness have resulted in a higher beneficial mutation rate than previously expected. This has dramatically changed the way in which new mutations are thought to contribute to adaptation and therefore requires new explanatory frameworks. Theoretical and empirical work has addressed this in part by putting the fitness effects of mutations in context, both environmental context and genetic context. This proposed symposium will bring together researchers who have recent data bearing on the beneficial mutation rate with those that have suggested explanations for the observed rates.
Organizer: Frank W. Stearns, Stevenson University
Speakers:
J. Grey Monroe
Deepa Agashe
David McCandlish
Siliang Song
Charles Fenster
Matthew Rutter
Mutations are the ultimate source of heritable variation for the maintenance and generation of biodiversity. Therefore, they are important across evolution, ecology, and behavior and affect all organisms. The effects of new mutations on fitness have long been considered primarily deleterious. However, recent work using new methods of estimating the distribution of mutation effects on fitness have resulted in a higher beneficial mutation rate than previously expected. This has dramatically changed the way in which new mutations are thought to contribute to adaptation and therefore requires new explanatory frameworks. Theoretical and empirical work has addressed this in part by putting the fitness effects of mutations in context, both environmental context and genetic context. This proposed symposium will bring together researchers who have recent data bearing on the beneficial mutation rate with those that have suggested explanations for the observed rates.
Organizer: Frank W. Stearns, Stevenson University
Speakers:
J. Grey Monroe
Deepa Agashe
David McCandlish
Siliang Song
Charles Fenster
Matthew Rutter
ASN - Student Research Award Symposium
Summary:
This symposium highlights the research of past winners of ASN’s Graduate Student Research Award.
Organizer: Dylan Padilla, ASN Graduate Council
Speakers:
Takuji Usui
Matthew Kustra
Nitin Ravikanthachari
Julia Harenčár
Taylor Zallek
This symposium highlights the research of past winners of ASN’s Graduate Student Research Award.
Organizer: Dylan Padilla, ASN Graduate Council
Speakers:
Takuji Usui
Matthew Kustra
Nitin Ravikanthachari
Julia Harenčár
Taylor Zallek
In-person award plenaries (June 20-24)
2026 Gould Plenary: Dr. Neil H. Shubin (June 20 - 7 pm)
The Stephen Jay Gould Prize is awarded every three years to recognize individuals whose sustained and exemplary efforts have advanced public understanding of evolutionary science and its importance in biology, education, and everyday life in the spirit of Stephen Jay Gould.
The SSE Gould Prize Committee is pleased to announce Dr. Neil H. Shubin as the 2026 recipient of the Stephen Jay Gould Prize. Dr. Shubin was selected for both his exceptional record of research and his influential work in advancing public understanding of evolution.
Dr. Shubin’s discovery of Tiktaalik roseae was field-changing, providing new and transformative insight into the transition of our vertebrate ancestors from water to land. His ongoing work continues to shed light on the origins of diversity in vertebrates, bridging paleontology, developmental biology, and genomics. Importantly, he has made evolution accessible—translating these ground-breaking discoveries into personal experiences for the public by connecting our deep evolutionary past and our own bodies.
Dr. Shubin has authored four major books, including “Your Inner Fish” (2008) which spent ten weeks on the NYT bestseller list and was the subject of the PBS series “Your Inner Fish.” The series brought evolutionary biology into the homes of millions across America and was awarded an Emmy Award for News and Documentary as well as the National Academy of Sciences Communication Award.
Beyond his writing, Dr. Shubin is active in outreach and engagement at all levels, bringing his gift for storytelling to K-12 classrooms, museums, community colleges, and universities. Dr. Shubin has been honored for his work with the Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education (2014) and the Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize from the Society for Developmental Biology (2024).
Dr. Shubin is the Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor of Anatomy and Vice Dean of the Biological Sciences Division at the University of Chicago. He teaches courses in Organismal Biology and Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology including a course for non-majors, “‘Your Inner Fish’: The Deep History of the Human Body.” He is a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A fellow of the National Academy of Sciences since 2011, Dr. Shubin has been elected to serve as the next President and will begin his term in July 2026.
The SSE Gould Prize Committee is pleased to announce Dr. Neil H. Shubin as the 2026 recipient of the Stephen Jay Gould Prize. Dr. Shubin was selected for both his exceptional record of research and his influential work in advancing public understanding of evolution.
Dr. Shubin’s discovery of Tiktaalik roseae was field-changing, providing new and transformative insight into the transition of our vertebrate ancestors from water to land. His ongoing work continues to shed light on the origins of diversity in vertebrates, bridging paleontology, developmental biology, and genomics. Importantly, he has made evolution accessible—translating these ground-breaking discoveries into personal experiences for the public by connecting our deep evolutionary past and our own bodies.
Dr. Shubin has authored four major books, including “Your Inner Fish” (2008) which spent ten weeks on the NYT bestseller list and was the subject of the PBS series “Your Inner Fish.” The series brought evolutionary biology into the homes of millions across America and was awarded an Emmy Award for News and Documentary as well as the National Academy of Sciences Communication Award.
Beyond his writing, Dr. Shubin is active in outreach and engagement at all levels, bringing his gift for storytelling to K-12 classrooms, museums, community colleges, and universities. Dr. Shubin has been honored for his work with the Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education (2014) and the Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize from the Society for Developmental Biology (2024).
Dr. Shubin is the Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor of Anatomy and Vice Dean of the Biological Sciences Division at the University of Chicago. He teaches courses in Organismal Biology and Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology including a course for non-majors, “‘Your Inner Fish’: The Deep History of the Human Body.” He is a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A fellow of the National Academy of Sciences since 2011, Dr. Shubin has been elected to serve as the next President and will begin his term in July 2026.
asn - eARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR Awards (Date/Time TBD)
Summary:
The ASN Early Career Investigator Award honors outstanding promise and accomplishments of early career investigators (3 years post-PhD, or in the final year of their PhD) who conduct integrative work in ecology, evolution, behavioral ecology, and genetics. The award was established in memory of Jasper Loftus-Hills (1946-1974), an Australian biologist of exceptional promise who died tragically during the course of fieldwork three years after receiving his degree.
Organizer: Jean-Philippe Gilbert
Speakers:
Erin Westeen
Brooke Bodensteiner
Tomas Kay
Patrick McKenzie
The ASN Early Career Investigator Award honors outstanding promise and accomplishments of early career investigators (3 years post-PhD, or in the final year of their PhD) who conduct integrative work in ecology, evolution, behavioral ecology, and genetics. The award was established in memory of Jasper Loftus-Hills (1946-1974), an Australian biologist of exceptional promise who died tragically during the course of fieldwork three years after receiving his degree.
Organizer: Jean-Philippe Gilbert
Speakers:
Erin Westeen
Brooke Bodensteiner
Tomas Kay
Patrick McKenzie
sse - DOBZHANSKY (Date/Time TBD)
The Dobzhansky Prize is awarded annually by the Society for the Study of Evolution to recognize the accomplishments and future promise of an outstanding early-career evolutionary biologist. The prize was established in memory of Professor Theodosius Dobzhansky by his friends and colleagues, and reflects his lifelong commitment to fostering the research careers of young scientists. More information on recipient will be listed here closer to the conference.
Society-led in-person symposia (June 20-24)
(SSB) Genetic diversity in ecological communities: A new biodiversity pattern that unifies ecological and evolutionary timescales (Date/Time TBD)
In this symposium, we highlight research leveraging the Community Genetic Distribution (CGD), which simultaneously captures among- and within-taxa components of whole-community biodiversity. Bringing together empirical case studies and theoretical models reveals how multi-scale ecological and evolutionary processes shape the CGD, and how statistical tools and machine learning approaches can be used to extract biodiversity insight from this emerging biodiversity pattern.
Organizers:
Isaac Overcast (Columbia University; on behalf of co-organizers)
Arianna Kuhn (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Deren Eaton (Columbia University)
Rosemary Gillespie (University of California Berkeley)
Speakers:
Isaac Overcast
Kara Andres
Jared Meek
Robin Rowher
Rilquer Mascarenhas
Mehrdad Hajibabaei
Organizers:
Isaac Overcast (Columbia University; on behalf of co-organizers)
Arianna Kuhn (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Deren Eaton (Columbia University)
Rosemary Gillespie (University of California Berkeley)
Speakers:
Isaac Overcast
Kara Andres
Jared Meek
Robin Rowher
Rilquer Mascarenhas
Mehrdad Hajibabaei
(SSE) Impacts of Genome Architecture on Polygenic Adaptation during Rapid Environmental Change (Time/Date TBD)
Organizers: Carol Eunmi Lee, Teresa Popp, Davorka Gulisija
In the current Anthropocene Epoch, we are witnessing rapid transformations of environmental conditions, such as climate warming, ocean acidification, salinity change, oxygen limitation, and pollution. The majority of physiological and behavioral traits responding to such stressors are polygenic, involving many genes, yet the genomic mechanisms that enable the rapid evolution of polygenic phenotypes remain elusive. With the recent proliferation of genomic data, we now have the ability to dissect and understand genome-wide polygenic responses at much greater depth and detail. Yet, we are only beginning to understand how genome architecture shapes evolutionary responses to environmental change, especially for polygenic traits. Various features of the genome can impact how selection acts on adaptive loci, such as the positions of genes in the genome, linkage among adaptive alleles, expansions of gene families, and chromosomal architecture arising from fusions, fissions, and inversions. Such genomic features are likely to affect gene regulation, co-inheritance of adaptive alleles, and gene-gene interactions. Thus, understanding the role of genome architecture is fundamental to uncovering mechanisms of polygenic adaptation and responses to rapid environmental change.
This symposium and working group topic is timely and unique, as the role of genome architecture, especially structural genome architecture, remains a relatively uncharted territory. Yet, this topic is profoundly important for understanding adaptive evolution involving polygenic traits, including physiological, morphological, and behavioral traits. Studies have typically examined polygenic adaptation and genomic architecture separately, without considering how genomic architecture could impact polygenic adaptation. The goal here is to generate a novel synthesis linking genome architecture with its impacts on polygenic adaptation.
In this symposium, we will bring together investigators exploring various aspects of genome architecture and their impacts on adaptive responses and mechanisms of polygenic adaptation. Through the presentation of our data and exchange of ideas, we will strive to gain novel insights into how genomic architecture shapes the evolutionary responses of populations, especially in the face of rapid global change.
Speakers:
Scott Edwards (Professor) Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
Population genomics and adaptive significance of structural variation across the Tree of Life for songbirds
Sean Chen (Associate Professor) Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Genome architecture of 75 arthropod species - Why larger genomes aren't always AT-rich and the compensating role of chromosome number
Zhenyong Du (Postdoc) University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Chromosomal fusions linked to adaptive evolution in an invasive copepod species complex
Alan Bergland (Associate Professor) University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
A cosmopolitan inversion captures the polygenic architecture underlying a foraging-survival trade-off in D. melanogaster.
Justin Conover (PhD) Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
TBD
Davorka Gulisija (Assistant Professor) University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Evolution of the genetic architecture underlying phenotypic plasticity
Kyle David (Postdoc) Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Genome duplication and the evolution of ecological novelty
Carol Eunmi Lee (Professor) University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Impacts of genome architecture on mechanisms of parallel adaptation during rapid environmental change, and concluding remarks
In the current Anthropocene Epoch, we are witnessing rapid transformations of environmental conditions, such as climate warming, ocean acidification, salinity change, oxygen limitation, and pollution. The majority of physiological and behavioral traits responding to such stressors are polygenic, involving many genes, yet the genomic mechanisms that enable the rapid evolution of polygenic phenotypes remain elusive. With the recent proliferation of genomic data, we now have the ability to dissect and understand genome-wide polygenic responses at much greater depth and detail. Yet, we are only beginning to understand how genome architecture shapes evolutionary responses to environmental change, especially for polygenic traits. Various features of the genome can impact how selection acts on adaptive loci, such as the positions of genes in the genome, linkage among adaptive alleles, expansions of gene families, and chromosomal architecture arising from fusions, fissions, and inversions. Such genomic features are likely to affect gene regulation, co-inheritance of adaptive alleles, and gene-gene interactions. Thus, understanding the role of genome architecture is fundamental to uncovering mechanisms of polygenic adaptation and responses to rapid environmental change.
This symposium and working group topic is timely and unique, as the role of genome architecture, especially structural genome architecture, remains a relatively uncharted territory. Yet, this topic is profoundly important for understanding adaptive evolution involving polygenic traits, including physiological, morphological, and behavioral traits. Studies have typically examined polygenic adaptation and genomic architecture separately, without considering how genomic architecture could impact polygenic adaptation. The goal here is to generate a novel synthesis linking genome architecture with its impacts on polygenic adaptation.
In this symposium, we will bring together investigators exploring various aspects of genome architecture and their impacts on adaptive responses and mechanisms of polygenic adaptation. Through the presentation of our data and exchange of ideas, we will strive to gain novel insights into how genomic architecture shapes the evolutionary responses of populations, especially in the face of rapid global change.
Speakers:
Scott Edwards (Professor) Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
Population genomics and adaptive significance of structural variation across the Tree of Life for songbirds
Sean Chen (Associate Professor) Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Genome architecture of 75 arthropod species - Why larger genomes aren't always AT-rich and the compensating role of chromosome number
Zhenyong Du (Postdoc) University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Chromosomal fusions linked to adaptive evolution in an invasive copepod species complex
Alan Bergland (Associate Professor) University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
A cosmopolitan inversion captures the polygenic architecture underlying a foraging-survival trade-off in D. melanogaster.
Justin Conover (PhD) Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
TBD
Davorka Gulisija (Assistant Professor) University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Evolution of the genetic architecture underlying phenotypic plasticity
Kyle David (Postdoc) Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Genome duplication and the evolution of ecological novelty
Carol Eunmi Lee (Professor) University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Impacts of genome architecture on mechanisms of parallel adaptation during rapid environmental change, and concluding remarks
(ASN) Vice presidential Symposium: Evolutionary dynamics across scales (date/time TBD)
Summary:
This symposium brings together researchers that explicitly study dynamical processes on a variety of systems across biological scales with the goal to shed light on general principles that transcend these scales. The symposium will explore how complex systems approaches can help us understand, not just evolutionary change, but also stability. Invited speakers incorporate perspectives from a diversity of organisms and subfields, highlighting the importance of feedback and nonlinear dynamics to understand evolutionary change.
Organizer: Renée A. Duckworth, ASN Vice President and Symposium Organizer
Speakers, affiliations, and titles
Renée A. Duckworth, ASN Vice President and Symposium Organizer
Evolutionary dynamics: How flexible responses maintain stability yet drive change
Eugene V. Koonin, NIH Distinguished Investigator at the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD USA
Origin of life from the multilevel selection perspective
Alexander V. Badyaev, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
Between Chance and Necessity: On the dynamic origins of specificity in evolution
Julia B. Saltz, Associate Professor of Biology at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA
Social feedbacks alter the genomic consequences of evolution
Rachel M. Germain, Associate Professor of Zoology at the University of British Columbia, BC Canada
Towards a modern synthesis of ecology and evolution
David Jablonski, Distinguished Service Professor of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, IL USA and Stewart M. Eadie, Geologist and Curator at the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC USA
Losses, gains, and restructuring of biodiversity currencies: mass extinctions and the times between
This symposium brings together researchers that explicitly study dynamical processes on a variety of systems across biological scales with the goal to shed light on general principles that transcend these scales. The symposium will explore how complex systems approaches can help us understand, not just evolutionary change, but also stability. Invited speakers incorporate perspectives from a diversity of organisms and subfields, highlighting the importance of feedback and nonlinear dynamics to understand evolutionary change.
Organizer: Renée A. Duckworth, ASN Vice President and Symposium Organizer
Speakers, affiliations, and titles
Renée A. Duckworth, ASN Vice President and Symposium Organizer
Evolutionary dynamics: How flexible responses maintain stability yet drive change
Eugene V. Koonin, NIH Distinguished Investigator at the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD USA
Origin of life from the multilevel selection perspective
Alexander V. Badyaev, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA
Between Chance and Necessity: On the dynamic origins of specificity in evolution
Julia B. Saltz, Associate Professor of Biology at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA
Social feedbacks alter the genomic consequences of evolution
Rachel M. Germain, Associate Professor of Zoology at the University of British Columbia, BC Canada
Towards a modern synthesis of ecology and evolution
David Jablonski, Distinguished Service Professor of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, IL USA and Stewart M. Eadie, Geologist and Curator at the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC USA
Losses, gains, and restructuring of biodiversity currencies: mass extinctions and the times between
Indigenous Data Sovereignty Symposium (Tri-society)
Indigenous data sovereignty (IDS) refers to the ability of indigenous people to determine and maintain stewardship over the data collected about them, on their ancestral lands, or from culturally important species. In the past decade, IDS principles have led to the development of frameworks such as the CARE principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) as a complement to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). These principles center Indigenous rights and well-being into data governance. Given that many evolutionary biologists work with genomic and ecological data drawn from Indigenous territories and communities and/or study culturally important species, engagement with IDS principles is not only an ethical necessity but, in some cases, a legal requirement. Despite its relevance and ethical importance to the tri-society community, IDS remains underdiscussed in the evolutionary biology field. This symposium will provide guidance on engaging responsibly with Indigenous communities and data in our research. Supported by SSE, SSB, and ASN.
Expert panelists
Krystal Tsosie (Diné/Navajo Nation), PhD, MPH, MA, is an Indigenous geneticist-bioethicist and Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. As an advocate for Indigenous genomic data sovereignty, she co-founded the first US Indigenous-led biobank, a 501c3 nonprofit research institution called the Native BioData Consortium.
https://search.asu.edu/profile/535281
Joe Yracheta (Native BioData) Vice President of the Native BioData Consortium: I am an Amerindigenous Health Disparity Researcher that supports Native Sovereignty and wishes to expand territory, influence and control of Native material, artistic, literary and biological resources.
https://nativebio.org/about-us
Matt Anderson (UWisc) The Anderson Lab is interested in how genetic diversity contributes to variation in species populations. To address these questions we utilize the major human fungal pathogen Candida albicans, a harmless commensal of the gastrointestinal tract and opportunistic pathogen. This yeast has an incredibly plastic genome capable of undergoing full ploidy shifts, haboring aneuploidy, experiencing large-scale loss of heterozygosity, and rapidly acquiring mutation…. We recently developed a system to analyze the ‘eukaryome’ via metagenomics and are applying this technique with our Lakota partners in investigating links to autoimmunity within their community. https://genetics.wisc.edu/staff/anderson-matt/
Leke Hutchins (ASU) Leke Hutchins is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences. Leke recently the publication “Arthropods are kin: Operationalizing Indigenous data sovereignty to respectfully utilize genomic data from Indigenous lands” in Molecular Ecology Resources.
https://search.asu.edu/profile/5184516
Expert panelists
Krystal Tsosie (Diné/Navajo Nation), PhD, MPH, MA, is an Indigenous geneticist-bioethicist and Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. As an advocate for Indigenous genomic data sovereignty, she co-founded the first US Indigenous-led biobank, a 501c3 nonprofit research institution called the Native BioData Consortium.
https://search.asu.edu/profile/535281
Joe Yracheta (Native BioData) Vice President of the Native BioData Consortium: I am an Amerindigenous Health Disparity Researcher that supports Native Sovereignty and wishes to expand territory, influence and control of Native material, artistic, literary and biological resources.
https://nativebio.org/about-us
Matt Anderson (UWisc) The Anderson Lab is interested in how genetic diversity contributes to variation in species populations. To address these questions we utilize the major human fungal pathogen Candida albicans, a harmless commensal of the gastrointestinal tract and opportunistic pathogen. This yeast has an incredibly plastic genome capable of undergoing full ploidy shifts, haboring aneuploidy, experiencing large-scale loss of heterozygosity, and rapidly acquiring mutation…. We recently developed a system to analyze the ‘eukaryome’ via metagenomics and are applying this technique with our Lakota partners in investigating links to autoimmunity within their community. https://genetics.wisc.edu/staff/anderson-matt/
Leke Hutchins (ASU) Leke Hutchins is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences. Leke recently the publication “Arthropods are kin: Operationalizing Indigenous data sovereignty to respectfully utilize genomic data from Indigenous lands” in Molecular Ecology Resources.
https://search.asu.edu/profile/5184516