Candidates Running for 2021 Council
You must be a member to vote. To access the ballot, enter your membership number on the ballot website. Scroll down to see each candidate's statement.
President Elect
- Isabel Sanmartín, Royal Botanical Garden and the Spanish National Research Council
- Brian O'Meara, University of Tennessee
SSB Council (2021-2023)
- Claudia Solís-Lemus, University of Wisconsin
- Celine Scornavacca, CNRS Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier
- Vinita Gowda, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
- Matthew K. Fujita, University of Texas at Arlington
- Brant C. Faircloth, Louisiana State University
- Lauren Esposito, California Academy of Sciences
- Andrew J. Crawford, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Rebecca (Becky) Chong, University of Hawai'i Mānoa
- Heath Blackmon, Texas A&M University
- Jeremy Beaulieu, University of Arkansas
Candidate Statements
President Elect
|
Brian O’Meara
PhD (2008), UC Davis Professor & Associate Head, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Dept of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Website Research— Studying macroevolutionary questions by developing and applying phylogenetic methods, especially comparative methods SSB activities— Past member of council, first communications director, Systematic Biology editorial board member, continual member of the tri-societies (SSB, SSE, ASN) Code of Conduct committee (survey, poster (O’Meara et al. 2019), code of conduct creation, safety officer selection, creation of EvoAllies program, etc.). Coordinated dozens of responses to Systematic Biology’s publisher for months to get rapid solutions when a system change led to open access articles being paywalled, DOIs going to the wrong article, articles appearing in the wrong journal, incorrect authorship, and other problems. Also served on committee to solicit offers from various publishers to improve Systematic Biology’s terms (though Burk and Associates did the final successful negotiations). Goals If you were to ask biologists, SSB’s selling points are that it puts out a great journal with a harrowingly thorough review process, organizes a wonderful standalone meeting, and contributes to a successful joint Evolution meeting; members receive discounts on all these, and some may be eligible for awards for talks or research. These all represent a tremendous amount of largely volunteer effort, and it’s a testament to the society that these have continued to thrive and even expand. It’s essential to support and nurture these aspects. However, SSB is more than these: it’s a Society of Systematic Biologists. We’re a community of people with a shared passion for solving questions using systematics. We need to take steps to knit this community together and have members benefit from these interactions. Some goals I would seek to achieve: Mentoring across institutions: while many institutions are creating mentoring relationships internally, internal power dynamics can still affect how well those work (how honest can an assistant professor be about their concerns about staying in academia to someone who will be voting on their tenure in a couple of years, for example?). A unique aspect of scientific societies is that their membership spans career paths, career stages, and institutions. I would create a system where people could form connections and meet virtually a few times a year, in pairs or small groups, to discuss science, career questions, and more. Importantly, information flow would not be unidirectional -- someone with more experience in academia could explore concerns with promotion with a junior colleague, but also learn about new areas of synthesis between ecology and evolution from them, for example. Support joint efforts: Whether it’s support for standards for data types or deposition requirements, areas of interest for grant agencies, or initiatives to get rid of structural barriers that push out people, a society can provide a framework so that it is not a single person working on their own but a collective effort with our membership’s backing. This makes the efforts more likely to succeed but also more likely to be sustained as new people rotate in to continue them. Make our society a welcoming, safe place: SSB has no requirements that members behave ethically, nor any guarantees that members won’t see their harasser at the next SSB event no matter how egregious and well-documented the bad behavior. The Code of Conduct helps address this at meetings, and there are efforts to make a Code of Ethics governing behavior in general, but those are still under development. With others, I have worked on a survey of the three societies to gather data on inappropriate behavior, craft policies for code of conduct enforcement, and more, but clearly there is much more to work on and I intend to keep pushing forward. |
Isabel Sanmartín
PhD (1998), Universidad Complutense Madrid Senior Research Scientist Royal Botanical Garden (RJB), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) Website Background and interests: I am primarily an evolutionary biologist, with a soft spot for Biogeography, the science that seeks to explain the distribution of life on Earth, past and present. One of my research areas is the analysis of macroevolutionary patterns across a diverse array of organisms (plants, animals, fungi). Another is the development of analytical tools, especially statistical approaches based on process models, which I pioneered back in the 2000s. My latest research combines genomics and biogeographic models with additional sources of evidence (palaeoclimate, the fossil record) to reconstruct the evolution of lineages from deep time to microevolutionary scales. I served as SSB Council member from 2015 to 2018, and as Associate Editor of Evolution (2017- 2019). I am also editor of Journal of Biogeography. Since 2018, I have worked as scientific-technical collaborator of the Spanish State Research Agency and the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education. I have contributed to popular textbooks on biogeography, and taught numerous workshops on this subject. The training of Early Stage Researchers has been a priority throughout my career, most of whom have been successful in academia. Candidate’s statement: Since 2018, I have been Deputy Director at the Royal Botanical Garden, where I lead the Communication and Educational Outreach Office. These new roles, and my work for the Spanish Agency, have been an eye-opener in terms of interacting with the general public, stakeholders, and policymakers. As scientists, we are trained on how to communicate our research to fellow colleagues, but we are increasingly being asked to engage in dissemination and communication activities, to transfer the product of our research to Society at large. If elected, in addition to boosting the reputation of SSB as a cradle of excellent science, innovative ideas and groundbreaking research, I would like to encourage science outreach activities within and outside academia. More specifically, I would like to organize and support workshops, mentorship activities, and training sessions aiming at providing young scientists with new complementary skills in: (i) communication to different target audiences, including social media broadcasting and educational outreach; (ii) gender perspectives, project management, and transfer technology. I also intend to support SSB’s policy of political engagement and government advising, especially concerning the biodiversity and climate crises; I could see how important this is during the past COP25 in Madrid. As scientific pursuit, I wish to see more integration among the different aspects of systematic biology, bridging the gap between cutting-edge analytical techniques and high-quality organismal biology research, especially with paleontology and evolutionary ecology. Last, but not least, I would like to help widen SSB membership to a more global audience, Asia, CS America and Africa, by holding some SSB stand-alone meetings and other gatherings abroad. |
SSB Council (2021-2023)
Jeremy Beaulieu
PhD (2012), Yale University
Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas
Department of Biological Sciences
jeremybeaulieu.org
Research Interests: I am an evolutionary biologist devoted to understanding how plants have become so diverse. I’ve mainly focused on big picture questions that combine very large, well-sampled phylogenies with complex parameter-rich models to better represent the variation observed and to better discern the dynamics underlying evident evolutionary patterns. My work naturally lies at the intersection of empirical and theoretical plant biology, and I also view myself as a positive voice for the continued application of comparative methods. My academic service includes active peer-review for 20+ journals, service on NSF panels, Associate Editor for Systematic Biology, and the Evolution and Diversity section editor at AoB PLANTS.
Term Goals: SSB has a long tradition of excellence and I view the appointment to the council as stewardship of this legacy. As a new member to the council, I would work to maintain the strong commitment to a diverse membership within the society. As a faculty member in a state that ranks near the bottom in K-12 education, I would advocate for outreach efforts toward students rarely, if ever, exposed to evolution education, and where there is the greatest opportunity to improve perceptions of evolution within the general public. So, I would propose to the council that SSB establish a partnership with NCSE and Skype a Scientist to train biologists on outreach.
Heath Blackmon
PhD (2015), University of Texas Arlington
Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University
Department of Biology
Lab website: http://coleoguy.github.io/
I received my Ph.D. in 2015 studying sex chromosomes and chromosome evolution in a variety of invertebrate clades in the lab of Dr. Jeffery Demuth at The University of Texas in Arlington. After completing my Ph.D., I accepted a postdoctoral position at the University of Minnesota, where I worked with Emma Goldberg and Yaniv Brandvain. My postdoctoral research included the development of biologically realistic models of chromosome number evolution and the application of theoretical population genetics to the evolution of sex chromosome structure. Since my arrival at Texas A&M University, I have been able to set up a lab that has three core areas of research: sex chromosome evolution, genome structure evolution, and method and data development.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force, I completed an online bachelor's degree through Oregon State University. I had never stepped foot in a research lab before starting graduate school. The generosity and acceptance of several mentors were key in facilitating my dream of becoming a scientist. Because of these experiences, I am passionate about trying to broaden the community of scientists in our field and lower the obstacles that other non-traditional students face. To this end, I have created an organization that provides free coding certification classes for student veterans. I also organize and teach R and open science workshops twice a year for students from all disciplines on my campus. If elected as a member of the council, I would search for opportunities to lower the barrier for underrepresented groups to become more involved in our society's meetings and other programs.
Rebecca (Becky) Chong
Ph.D. (2014), Colorado State University
Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
www.chonglab.org
Background and Research Interests: I am an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii, where I run a research program focused on the evolutionary genomics of symbiotic interactions. Specifically, we’re interested in studying how evolutionary processes shape genome function and architecture, particularly for symbiotic systems where obligate coevolutionary interactions significantly impact genome evolution. I maintain an active role in the society: regularly serve as a reviewer for several society awards, published in our journal, and attend the annual meetings. I am also an active member in SSE and SMBE. I serve as a reviewer and judge for SSE awards and have organized symposia for the SMBE meetings in 2017 and 2018. I have also served as a reviewer and panelist for NSF.
Candidate’s Statement: I first joined SSB as an undergraduate student and was quickly immersed in an inclusive and active science community. Being a member of SSB provided me unique opportunities for professional development and I would like to continue expanding these opportunities for our early career researchers. One of my priorities as councilor would be to help find additional ways to support our graduate students and early career researchers. These could include expanding the current Graduate Student Research Awards to provide separate calls to early and advanced graduate students, finding mechanisms to reduce the cost associated with attending conferences and workshops, and formalizing additional mentorship and networking opportunities for members. Our society benefits from bringing together a diverse community of scientists. To help promote this, I propose to develop a mentorship program focused on promoting diversity in STEM and education. We could accomplish this by pairing mentors with new members at all career stages. Mentors and mentees would be able to meet in person at the annual meetings and continue fostering these interactions through virtual meetings. I’ve benefited greatly during my career being an active member in SSB and I hope that I can give back to the society and continue to help foster a diverse and inclusive community.
Andrew J. Crawford
Ph.D. (2000), University of Chicago
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
http://dna.ac/cv.html
Biographical sketch: I work on taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, and phylogeography of tetrapods in the American Tropics, with a penchant for frogs and capybara. I obtained my PhD from the University of Chicago and completed NSF and Smithsonian postdocs at STRI in Panama. I joined the faculty at UniAndes in 2009 and previously served as Director of our Museo de Historia Natural ANDES (museo.uniandes.edu.co). I have served as Associate Editor for Evolution and for Journal of Heredity, and just completed a term on the Council of the American Genetics Association. I currently serve on the council of the Vertebrate Genomes Project (vertebrategenomesproject.org) and am a founding member of Ciencia Café pa’ Sumercé, a science outreach initiative based in Bogotá (cienciacafesumerce.wordpress.com).
Candidate’s statement: The SSB brings together many of the greatest minds dedicated to understanding the World’s biological diversity and its origins. Here at 4.6º N latitude, surrounded by incredible biological diversity, I am keenly aware that the knowledge and skills of SSB systematists have never been more urgently needed. As a Council member I would work to broaden the impacts of the SSB by helping build lasting connections between biologists on the front lines of the biodiversity crisis and the international community of leading systematists represented by the SSB.
The SSB already has a generous award program for intercontinental travel to bring students to the SSB meetings, but could we not also bring the SSB to the students? As Council member, I would like to help develop synergistic initiatives whereby SSB might reach more international students, professionals, and potential collaborators outside of the annual meeting, e.g., by reaching out to other systematics-related societies and events. In Latin America I meet students passionate about systematics but they look to Cladistics not Systematic Biology for inspiration. I meet brilliant young taxonomists lacking access to comparative material or to new technologies for obtaining character data. I know we can do better. Having divided my career between North, Central, and South America, I hope that I might offer to the SSB a unique perspective on international issues, reach out to the greater community of biodiversity scientists, and grow the membership of the SSB.
Lauren Esposito
PhD (2011), City University of New York- AMNH
Assistant Curator, Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability
California Academy of Sciences
https://www.calacademy.org/staff/ibss/entomology/lauren-esposito
Background and Research Interests: I am an arachnologist and currently hold the Schlinger Chair of Arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences. My current research is focused on the systematics of a range of arachnid groups including spiders, scorpions, and mites, as well as developing broad patterns of terrestrial arthropod biogeography for the Caribbean region. I got my start in the world of science research while an undergraduate at the University of Texas at El Paso, and went on to complete my MS and PhD at the American Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the City University of New York, focusing on a medically important group of scorpions in North America. In addition to research, I have organized education programs on the importance of conserving biodiversity in local communities throughout the Americas, and currently lead field-based education programs for undergraduate students in Baja California, Mexico. In addition to serving as an Associate Editor for Bioscience and as a reviewer for a large number of taxon- and evolution-focused journals, including Systematic Biology, I have also served as a reviewer for the SSB Graduate Student Research Awards, Mini-ARTs grants, and Ernst Mayr Award.
Candidate's Statement: The one principle that unites the research among the members of SSB is a focus on biodiversity and how this biodiversity changes through time. As such, we as a society are concerned with documenting life on earth and its changes. This is a task that simply cannot be achieved without a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at the global scale. We need partners all over the world, and we need to work to elevate the voices of those who have been historically overlooked, if we ever hope to achieve our goals of understanding life and how it evolves. It is because of this that I believe that the Society of Systematic Biology can be a leader among scientific societies in its efforts at Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I would like to bring my experiences to the table in achieving these goals. I am the co-founder and co-director of a non-profit organization, Islands & Seas, which is focused on enabling scientific research and local access to scientific education in remote biodiverse areas. Lastly, in June of 2018, I launched a visibility campaign for LGBTQ+ people working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and STEM-supporting careers, called 500 Queer Scientists. The goals of the campaign are to ensure the next STEM generation has LGBTQ+ role models, help the current generation recognize they’re not alone, and to create opportunities for community connections and greater visibility within STEM. The capaign is fueled by individual, self-submitted bios and stories of LGBTQ+ students and professionals, intended to boost the recognition and awareness of queer scientists. Nearing it’s one year anniversary, the campaign has nearly 1000 contributors from across the globe, has made the headlines in a number of international science journals, and is successfully amplifying the voice of LGBTQ+ people at the equity and inclusion table.
Brant C. Faircloth
Ph.D. (2008), University of Georgia
Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University
Department of Biological Sciences
https://www.faircloth-lab.org/
Dr. Faircloth studies the evolutionary relationships among vertebrate taxa and the molecular evolution of conserved genomic elements across vertebrates. His laboratory group also develops molecular and computational methods. He received his PhD during 2008 from the University of Georgia, and he held post-doctoral and research scientist positions at UCLA before moving to Baton Rouge. He is currently an Associate Editor at Systematic Biology where he also serves as an ad hoc referee and where he previously served as an editorial board member (2013-2018). Dr. Faircloth is the developer of the phyluce software package, an NSF Panel member in the Division of Environmental Biology, and an organizer of the 2017 SSB Standalone Meeting in Baton Rouge.
He is interested in serving on the SSB Council to increase recruitment of student members from different backgrounds while simultaneously increasing research and mentoring support/opportunities for student and postdoc members. He is also interested in reducing the cost of open-access publication in Systematic Biology.
Matthew K. Fujita
Ph.D (2009), University of California, Berkeley
Associate Professor, University of Texas at Arlington
Department of Biology
fujitalab.com
Background and Research Interests: I am an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and Curator of Herpetology at the Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center. I received my PhD in 2009 from the University of California, Berkeley, working in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and conducted my postdoctoral research at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. My lab investigates the systematics and evolutionary genomics of reptiles and amphibians. Currently we leverage the unique features of our models – such as parthenogenesis in squamates, vision systems in frogs, novel epidermal glands in lizards – to understand their biodiversity.
Candidate Statement: I am currently an Associate Editor for three journals and have served on several NSF panels, and look forward to serving SSB directly. Of continuing and growing importance to my lab is equity and inclusion in STEM. As a Councilmember, I hope to contribute to the growth and progress of systematics by (1) emphasizing the power of integrating multiple data types for systematics questions, (2) promoting the use and evolving value of natural history collections, and (3) encouraging inclusion and diversity at every academic tier in our field.
Vinita Gowda
PhD (2009), The George Washington University
Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research— Bhopal, India
https://treelab.wixsite.com/tree
I am an evolutionary biologist interested in understanding the role of ecology in driving floral innovations in plants using a systematic approach. After my PhD, I worked at the Smithsonian Institution and Singapore Botanic Gardens for my postdoctoral work and returned to India in 2013. My lab is called the “TrEE lab” – Tropical Ecology and Evolution lab and the research interests of the group and its achievements can be found at: https://treelab.wixsite.com/tree I am a member of the Heliconia Society International, Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), and Gesneriad Society, and it would be an honor to be a part of SSB. I represent the new generation of botanists in India and Asia who are working towards preserving the biodiversity by trying to understand how this biodiversity was created and by engaging the next generation in academic discussions on evolution and conservation.
I would like to be an active connecting link between SSB and researchers/students who work in the remotest parts of India with very limited resources and exposure. Since my return to India and setting up my lab, I have realized that the limitations for researchers and students in/from countries like India are not financial resources but the basic exposure to science and innovative techniques. I would like to engage myself in communicating the needs of students and researchers with SSB researchers and coming up with long-term plans for scientific discussions with the local governments and institutions. I strongly believe that the need of the hour is conservation as much as scientific discussions on how systematic biology can improve our understanding of local flora and fauna. SSB will provide an appropriate platform for me where researchers currently involved with SSB can advice me on how to make systematic biology locally engaging, innovative and collaborative. I believe I can deliver especially because I have a great team of budding researchers and I engage with a huge contingency of undergraduate students from a diverse background. I also have an understanding of local granting agencies, which may be able to support discussions on systematic biology for the local audience in India. This long-term engagement of international experts with local bodies in India has been a long-term goal of mine, and I look forward to getting an opportunity to be engaged in the same.
Celine Scornavacca
Ph.D. (2009), Montpellier University
CNRS associate scientist, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier
http://celine.scornavacca.org
Background and Research Interests: I graduated in mathematical engineering at Rome University in 2006. I received my Ph.D. in computer science at Montpellier University in 2009. After a postdoctoral position at Tübingen University, I joined the Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier as CNRS researcher in 2011. Since then, I have developed algorithmic approaches to phylogenetics, in close interaction with biologists. My research interests include parameterized complexity, combinatorics, methods for phylogenetics and bioinformatics. I am a member of the French National Committee for Scientific Research (CoNRS) and in the PC of numerous conferences. Since 2013, I have been one of the driving forces of the Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology (MCEB) conference, held in the south of France (a venue for terrific science in a wonderful, informal atmosphere).
Candidate's statement: It would be a great honor for me to serve on the SSB council, and I would like to work to promote Open Science, Sustainable Science and Fair Science. These are topics that I really care for and in which I am very active already. As an illustration of my involvement, I would like to mention that I am one of the founders of the newly created PCI Mathematical and Computational Biology (https://peercommunityin.org) and I am currently editing an Open Access book self-managed by scientists. I am also in the board of directors of Vélocité Montpellier (a very active association that promotes the use of the bicycle in Montpellier for a more livable city, https://www.velocite-montpellier.fr) and this year MCEB program will be focused on “Climate Changes and their Impacts on Evolution”. Finally, I am pro-active in support of gender equality within the CoNRS and in all PCs in which I am involved. I also think that my original training in computer science may bring a fresh view and a new perspective in the council.
Claudia Solís-Lemus
Ph.D. (2015), University of Wisconsin- Madison
Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology & Wisconsin Institute for Discovery
University of Wisconsin-Madison
http://crsl4.github.io/
Background and research interests: I earned my PhD in Statistics in 2015 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an emphasis on phylogenomic inference. I have focused on new methods to reconstruct phylogenetic networks, which are the extension of trees to account for reticulate events like hybridization, introgression or horizontal gene transfer, but my work extends outside networks. I work to produce a collection of new statistical methods with solid theoretical guarantees and efficient computational implementations that are adaptable to analyze the complex data in evolutionary biology. Most of the time, my research feels like a balancing act between biological interpretability, statistical guarantees, and computational tractability. I consider SSB as my home society where I have acted as a reviewer since 2016, and an associate editor since 2019. I organized a forum on coalescent-based methods at the 2020 SSB meeting, and I look forward to being more involved in the planning of future meetings. In addition, I was invited to participate in the "Future of Systematics" session at the 2020 SSB meeting. I continue to participate in the online meetings connected to this session that are designed to identify specific action points to put ideas forward during 2020.
Candidate's statement: SSB has a strong tradition of research excellence, broadening collaborations, and extensive networking potential during meetings, and as a SSB councilor, I would be honored to contribute to this same vision. In addition, I will propose to bring attention to two specific areas: 1) empowering junior researchers with hands-on experience to perform robust data analyses and 2) focusing on the importance of reproducibility. I will propose to create more venues (workshops, symposia) during meetings (and outside regular meetings) for early-career researchers to learn more about data analyses from a hands-on computational perspective, and to learn the fundamentals of reproducible practices. As a society, we become increasingly more vigilant of the reproducibility of the research that we produce, but it is hard to enforce something that is not properly taught at early career stages. Also, I am a strong advocate of open science and open data practices, so I believe that one of the priorities of the society should be to identify better ways to integrate data in a sensible reproducible manner.
PhD (2012), Yale University
Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas
Department of Biological Sciences
jeremybeaulieu.org
Research Interests: I am an evolutionary biologist devoted to understanding how plants have become so diverse. I’ve mainly focused on big picture questions that combine very large, well-sampled phylogenies with complex parameter-rich models to better represent the variation observed and to better discern the dynamics underlying evident evolutionary patterns. My work naturally lies at the intersection of empirical and theoretical plant biology, and I also view myself as a positive voice for the continued application of comparative methods. My academic service includes active peer-review for 20+ journals, service on NSF panels, Associate Editor for Systematic Biology, and the Evolution and Diversity section editor at AoB PLANTS.
Term Goals: SSB has a long tradition of excellence and I view the appointment to the council as stewardship of this legacy. As a new member to the council, I would work to maintain the strong commitment to a diverse membership within the society. As a faculty member in a state that ranks near the bottom in K-12 education, I would advocate for outreach efforts toward students rarely, if ever, exposed to evolution education, and where there is the greatest opportunity to improve perceptions of evolution within the general public. So, I would propose to the council that SSB establish a partnership with NCSE and Skype a Scientist to train biologists on outreach.
Heath Blackmon
PhD (2015), University of Texas Arlington
Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University
Department of Biology
Lab website: http://coleoguy.github.io/
I received my Ph.D. in 2015 studying sex chromosomes and chromosome evolution in a variety of invertebrate clades in the lab of Dr. Jeffery Demuth at The University of Texas in Arlington. After completing my Ph.D., I accepted a postdoctoral position at the University of Minnesota, where I worked with Emma Goldberg and Yaniv Brandvain. My postdoctoral research included the development of biologically realistic models of chromosome number evolution and the application of theoretical population genetics to the evolution of sex chromosome structure. Since my arrival at Texas A&M University, I have been able to set up a lab that has three core areas of research: sex chromosome evolution, genome structure evolution, and method and data development.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force, I completed an online bachelor's degree through Oregon State University. I had never stepped foot in a research lab before starting graduate school. The generosity and acceptance of several mentors were key in facilitating my dream of becoming a scientist. Because of these experiences, I am passionate about trying to broaden the community of scientists in our field and lower the obstacles that other non-traditional students face. To this end, I have created an organization that provides free coding certification classes for student veterans. I also organize and teach R and open science workshops twice a year for students from all disciplines on my campus. If elected as a member of the council, I would search for opportunities to lower the barrier for underrepresented groups to become more involved in our society's meetings and other programs.
Rebecca (Becky) Chong
Ph.D. (2014), Colorado State University
Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
www.chonglab.org
Background and Research Interests: I am an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii, where I run a research program focused on the evolutionary genomics of symbiotic interactions. Specifically, we’re interested in studying how evolutionary processes shape genome function and architecture, particularly for symbiotic systems where obligate coevolutionary interactions significantly impact genome evolution. I maintain an active role in the society: regularly serve as a reviewer for several society awards, published in our journal, and attend the annual meetings. I am also an active member in SSE and SMBE. I serve as a reviewer and judge for SSE awards and have organized symposia for the SMBE meetings in 2017 and 2018. I have also served as a reviewer and panelist for NSF.
Candidate’s Statement: I first joined SSB as an undergraduate student and was quickly immersed in an inclusive and active science community. Being a member of SSB provided me unique opportunities for professional development and I would like to continue expanding these opportunities for our early career researchers. One of my priorities as councilor would be to help find additional ways to support our graduate students and early career researchers. These could include expanding the current Graduate Student Research Awards to provide separate calls to early and advanced graduate students, finding mechanisms to reduce the cost associated with attending conferences and workshops, and formalizing additional mentorship and networking opportunities for members. Our society benefits from bringing together a diverse community of scientists. To help promote this, I propose to develop a mentorship program focused on promoting diversity in STEM and education. We could accomplish this by pairing mentors with new members at all career stages. Mentors and mentees would be able to meet in person at the annual meetings and continue fostering these interactions through virtual meetings. I’ve benefited greatly during my career being an active member in SSB and I hope that I can give back to the society and continue to help foster a diverse and inclusive community.
Andrew J. Crawford
Ph.D. (2000), University of Chicago
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
http://dna.ac/cv.html
Biographical sketch: I work on taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, and phylogeography of tetrapods in the American Tropics, with a penchant for frogs and capybara. I obtained my PhD from the University of Chicago and completed NSF and Smithsonian postdocs at STRI in Panama. I joined the faculty at UniAndes in 2009 and previously served as Director of our Museo de Historia Natural ANDES (museo.uniandes.edu.co). I have served as Associate Editor for Evolution and for Journal of Heredity, and just completed a term on the Council of the American Genetics Association. I currently serve on the council of the Vertebrate Genomes Project (vertebrategenomesproject.org) and am a founding member of Ciencia Café pa’ Sumercé, a science outreach initiative based in Bogotá (cienciacafesumerce.wordpress.com).
Candidate’s statement: The SSB brings together many of the greatest minds dedicated to understanding the World’s biological diversity and its origins. Here at 4.6º N latitude, surrounded by incredible biological diversity, I am keenly aware that the knowledge and skills of SSB systematists have never been more urgently needed. As a Council member I would work to broaden the impacts of the SSB by helping build lasting connections between biologists on the front lines of the biodiversity crisis and the international community of leading systematists represented by the SSB.
The SSB already has a generous award program for intercontinental travel to bring students to the SSB meetings, but could we not also bring the SSB to the students? As Council member, I would like to help develop synergistic initiatives whereby SSB might reach more international students, professionals, and potential collaborators outside of the annual meeting, e.g., by reaching out to other systematics-related societies and events. In Latin America I meet students passionate about systematics but they look to Cladistics not Systematic Biology for inspiration. I meet brilliant young taxonomists lacking access to comparative material or to new technologies for obtaining character data. I know we can do better. Having divided my career between North, Central, and South America, I hope that I might offer to the SSB a unique perspective on international issues, reach out to the greater community of biodiversity scientists, and grow the membership of the SSB.
Lauren Esposito
PhD (2011), City University of New York- AMNH
Assistant Curator, Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability
California Academy of Sciences
https://www.calacademy.org/staff/ibss/entomology/lauren-esposito
Background and Research Interests: I am an arachnologist and currently hold the Schlinger Chair of Arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences. My current research is focused on the systematics of a range of arachnid groups including spiders, scorpions, and mites, as well as developing broad patterns of terrestrial arthropod biogeography for the Caribbean region. I got my start in the world of science research while an undergraduate at the University of Texas at El Paso, and went on to complete my MS and PhD at the American Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the City University of New York, focusing on a medically important group of scorpions in North America. In addition to research, I have organized education programs on the importance of conserving biodiversity in local communities throughout the Americas, and currently lead field-based education programs for undergraduate students in Baja California, Mexico. In addition to serving as an Associate Editor for Bioscience and as a reviewer for a large number of taxon- and evolution-focused journals, including Systematic Biology, I have also served as a reviewer for the SSB Graduate Student Research Awards, Mini-ARTs grants, and Ernst Mayr Award.
Candidate's Statement: The one principle that unites the research among the members of SSB is a focus on biodiversity and how this biodiversity changes through time. As such, we as a society are concerned with documenting life on earth and its changes. This is a task that simply cannot be achieved without a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at the global scale. We need partners all over the world, and we need to work to elevate the voices of those who have been historically overlooked, if we ever hope to achieve our goals of understanding life and how it evolves. It is because of this that I believe that the Society of Systematic Biology can be a leader among scientific societies in its efforts at Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I would like to bring my experiences to the table in achieving these goals. I am the co-founder and co-director of a non-profit organization, Islands & Seas, which is focused on enabling scientific research and local access to scientific education in remote biodiverse areas. Lastly, in June of 2018, I launched a visibility campaign for LGBTQ+ people working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and STEM-supporting careers, called 500 Queer Scientists. The goals of the campaign are to ensure the next STEM generation has LGBTQ+ role models, help the current generation recognize they’re not alone, and to create opportunities for community connections and greater visibility within STEM. The capaign is fueled by individual, self-submitted bios and stories of LGBTQ+ students and professionals, intended to boost the recognition and awareness of queer scientists. Nearing it’s one year anniversary, the campaign has nearly 1000 contributors from across the globe, has made the headlines in a number of international science journals, and is successfully amplifying the voice of LGBTQ+ people at the equity and inclusion table.
Brant C. Faircloth
Ph.D. (2008), University of Georgia
Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University
Department of Biological Sciences
https://www.faircloth-lab.org/
Dr. Faircloth studies the evolutionary relationships among vertebrate taxa and the molecular evolution of conserved genomic elements across vertebrates. His laboratory group also develops molecular and computational methods. He received his PhD during 2008 from the University of Georgia, and he held post-doctoral and research scientist positions at UCLA before moving to Baton Rouge. He is currently an Associate Editor at Systematic Biology where he also serves as an ad hoc referee and where he previously served as an editorial board member (2013-2018). Dr. Faircloth is the developer of the phyluce software package, an NSF Panel member in the Division of Environmental Biology, and an organizer of the 2017 SSB Standalone Meeting in Baton Rouge.
He is interested in serving on the SSB Council to increase recruitment of student members from different backgrounds while simultaneously increasing research and mentoring support/opportunities for student and postdoc members. He is also interested in reducing the cost of open-access publication in Systematic Biology.
Matthew K. Fujita
Ph.D (2009), University of California, Berkeley
Associate Professor, University of Texas at Arlington
Department of Biology
fujitalab.com
Background and Research Interests: I am an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and Curator of Herpetology at the Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center. I received my PhD in 2009 from the University of California, Berkeley, working in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and conducted my postdoctoral research at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. My lab investigates the systematics and evolutionary genomics of reptiles and amphibians. Currently we leverage the unique features of our models – such as parthenogenesis in squamates, vision systems in frogs, novel epidermal glands in lizards – to understand their biodiversity.
Candidate Statement: I am currently an Associate Editor for three journals and have served on several NSF panels, and look forward to serving SSB directly. Of continuing and growing importance to my lab is equity and inclusion in STEM. As a Councilmember, I hope to contribute to the growth and progress of systematics by (1) emphasizing the power of integrating multiple data types for systematics questions, (2) promoting the use and evolving value of natural history collections, and (3) encouraging inclusion and diversity at every academic tier in our field.
Vinita Gowda
PhD (2009), The George Washington University
Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research— Bhopal, India
https://treelab.wixsite.com/tree
I am an evolutionary biologist interested in understanding the role of ecology in driving floral innovations in plants using a systematic approach. After my PhD, I worked at the Smithsonian Institution and Singapore Botanic Gardens for my postdoctoral work and returned to India in 2013. My lab is called the “TrEE lab” – Tropical Ecology and Evolution lab and the research interests of the group and its achievements can be found at: https://treelab.wixsite.com/tree I am a member of the Heliconia Society International, Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), and Gesneriad Society, and it would be an honor to be a part of SSB. I represent the new generation of botanists in India and Asia who are working towards preserving the biodiversity by trying to understand how this biodiversity was created and by engaging the next generation in academic discussions on evolution and conservation.
I would like to be an active connecting link between SSB and researchers/students who work in the remotest parts of India with very limited resources and exposure. Since my return to India and setting up my lab, I have realized that the limitations for researchers and students in/from countries like India are not financial resources but the basic exposure to science and innovative techniques. I would like to engage myself in communicating the needs of students and researchers with SSB researchers and coming up with long-term plans for scientific discussions with the local governments and institutions. I strongly believe that the need of the hour is conservation as much as scientific discussions on how systematic biology can improve our understanding of local flora and fauna. SSB will provide an appropriate platform for me where researchers currently involved with SSB can advice me on how to make systematic biology locally engaging, innovative and collaborative. I believe I can deliver especially because I have a great team of budding researchers and I engage with a huge contingency of undergraduate students from a diverse background. I also have an understanding of local granting agencies, which may be able to support discussions on systematic biology for the local audience in India. This long-term engagement of international experts with local bodies in India has been a long-term goal of mine, and I look forward to getting an opportunity to be engaged in the same.
Celine Scornavacca
Ph.D. (2009), Montpellier University
CNRS associate scientist, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier
http://celine.scornavacca.org
Background and Research Interests: I graduated in mathematical engineering at Rome University in 2006. I received my Ph.D. in computer science at Montpellier University in 2009. After a postdoctoral position at Tübingen University, I joined the Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier as CNRS researcher in 2011. Since then, I have developed algorithmic approaches to phylogenetics, in close interaction with biologists. My research interests include parameterized complexity, combinatorics, methods for phylogenetics and bioinformatics. I am a member of the French National Committee for Scientific Research (CoNRS) and in the PC of numerous conferences. Since 2013, I have been one of the driving forces of the Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology (MCEB) conference, held in the south of France (a venue for terrific science in a wonderful, informal atmosphere).
Candidate's statement: It would be a great honor for me to serve on the SSB council, and I would like to work to promote Open Science, Sustainable Science and Fair Science. These are topics that I really care for and in which I am very active already. As an illustration of my involvement, I would like to mention that I am one of the founders of the newly created PCI Mathematical and Computational Biology (https://peercommunityin.org) and I am currently editing an Open Access book self-managed by scientists. I am also in the board of directors of Vélocité Montpellier (a very active association that promotes the use of the bicycle in Montpellier for a more livable city, https://www.velocite-montpellier.fr) and this year MCEB program will be focused on “Climate Changes and their Impacts on Evolution”. Finally, I am pro-active in support of gender equality within the CoNRS and in all PCs in which I am involved. I also think that my original training in computer science may bring a fresh view and a new perspective in the council.
Claudia Solís-Lemus
Ph.D. (2015), University of Wisconsin- Madison
Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology & Wisconsin Institute for Discovery
University of Wisconsin-Madison
http://crsl4.github.io/
Background and research interests: I earned my PhD in Statistics in 2015 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an emphasis on phylogenomic inference. I have focused on new methods to reconstruct phylogenetic networks, which are the extension of trees to account for reticulate events like hybridization, introgression or horizontal gene transfer, but my work extends outside networks. I work to produce a collection of new statistical methods with solid theoretical guarantees and efficient computational implementations that are adaptable to analyze the complex data in evolutionary biology. Most of the time, my research feels like a balancing act between biological interpretability, statistical guarantees, and computational tractability. I consider SSB as my home society where I have acted as a reviewer since 2016, and an associate editor since 2019. I organized a forum on coalescent-based methods at the 2020 SSB meeting, and I look forward to being more involved in the planning of future meetings. In addition, I was invited to participate in the "Future of Systematics" session at the 2020 SSB meeting. I continue to participate in the online meetings connected to this session that are designed to identify specific action points to put ideas forward during 2020.
Candidate's statement: SSB has a strong tradition of research excellence, broadening collaborations, and extensive networking potential during meetings, and as a SSB councilor, I would be honored to contribute to this same vision. In addition, I will propose to bring attention to two specific areas: 1) empowering junior researchers with hands-on experience to perform robust data analyses and 2) focusing on the importance of reproducibility. I will propose to create more venues (workshops, symposia) during meetings (and outside regular meetings) for early-career researchers to learn more about data analyses from a hands-on computational perspective, and to learn the fundamentals of reproducible practices. As a society, we become increasingly more vigilant of the reproducibility of the research that we produce, but it is hard to enforce something that is not properly taught at early career stages. Also, I am a strong advocate of open science and open data practices, so I believe that one of the priorities of the society should be to identify better ways to integrate data in a sensible reproducible manner.