Research prizes for PhD students
Two PhD students from the MEEP Lab have won prizes for their research. Sebastian Duchene has been awarded the Faculty of Science Postgraduate Research Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement. This prize was awarded on recommendation of the Dean of the Faculty. Sebastian has received this prize for this paper entitled “Analyses of evolutionary dynamics in …
Rapid bird evolution after the age of dinosaurs
The most ambitious genetic study ever undertaken on bird evolution has found that almost all modern birds diversified after the dinosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago. “The popular view until now has been that the extraordinary diversity of birds began during the dinosaur age but we found little support for this,” said Associate Professor …
Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher
Associate Professor Simon Ho has received the Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher for his work on molecular clocks over the past 5 years. The prize was presented at an awards ceremony at the Sydney Town Hall. Molecular clocks provide a tool for biologists to estimate evolutionary rates and timescales. By knowing the rate …
Theses from two PhD students
Two students from the MEEP lab, Martyna Molak and Luana Lins, recently completed their doctoral work. Martyna was awarded her PhD for her thesis entitled “Evolutionary Analysis of Ancient DNA Sequences”. Luana Lins recently submitted her PhD thesis on the evolution and diversity of isopod crustaceans. Both theses included chapters that had been published as …
Genetics Society of Australasia Conference 2014
Eight members of the MEEP laboratory attended the Genetics Society of Australasia Conference, held at the University of Sydney 6-11 July. A/Prof. Simon Ho, Sebastian Duchene, Daej Arab, Frank Jia, Charles Foster, Jun Tong, and Andrew Ritchie gave talks about their research. Jun Tong received a Student Talk Prize Honourable Mention for his presentation. Sebastian …
New study of evolutionary rates in viruses
Sebastian Duchene and Simon Ho, together with colleague Eddie Holmes, have published a paper on viral evolutionary rates in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. This paper has important implications for our understanding of the evolutionary rates and timescales of viruses. Viruses are responsible for a large proportion of infectious diseases. They can …
Prizes for MEEP Honours students
MEEP Honours students Charles Foster and Jun Tong have won prizes for their work. For his outstanding Honours research, Charles has been awarded the University Medal in Biology, the Ilma Brewer Prize for Biology Honours, and the Professor Spencer Smith-White Prize in Biology Honours. He also received a prize for his poster at the recent …
Genetics Society of Australasia Conference 2013
Members of the MEEP Lab presented 4 talks and 5 posters at the Genetics Society of Australasia Conference 2013 (July 14–17), held at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. The conference was attended by about 250 researchers and students. Two PhD students from MEEP won prizes at the conference. Sebastian Duchene won a …
Prizes for PhD student Martyna Molak
MEEP PhD student Martyna Molak has won the Faculty of Science Postgraduate Research Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement. This prize was awarded for her research into estimating evolutionary rates and timescales using ancient DNA. Martyna has also been awarded a scholarship from the Winton Charitable Foundation. This scholarship supports student projects that span both mathematics …
PhD student wins Science Without Borders scholarship
PhD student Luana Lins has won a 2-year ‘Science Without Borders’ top-up scholarship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. This will fund her project on the evolution of deep-sea isopods. Science without borders (Ciência sem Fronteiras) is a programme of the Brazilian government that seeks to promote the consolidation, expansion, and …