Rebecca co-taught Invertebrate Zoology alongside Dr. William Ballentine, and BOY did we have fun. So many good worms, intense fieldwork, and lots of beautiful student scientific illustrations. It's always hard to leave the island, but excited to see what the next year brings!

Claire joined forces with Mady this summer at Friday Harbor Laboratories, and they were fantastic moms to 5000+ baby chitons. We got to do some confocal with Jim Truman and had an absolutely amazing time! Stay tuned for updates on the development of the iron teeth in chitons, as well as new observations of aesthete development!  

Emily Bierbaum joined the Varney Lab as a POE postdoc! Emily just completed her PhD at the University of Tulsa, where she worked on Brook Salamanders to investigate how the genes of the visual system change in expression across metamorphosis. Emily wrote a fantastic application, and we are excited to have her aboard. She will be pursuing work with the ostracods from sulfuric hot springs, asking how development interfaces with their ability to survive extreme environments! Can't wait to see what she gets up to! Read more about the POE postdoc at UNL here!

Happy to share that our paper on molecular convergence in cnidarians is out. Instead of finding genes under selection that contributed to diverse body forms, we found widespread convergence that was decoupled from body forms. Read more here!

Mady gave a talk on her SEM-EDX work examining the internal composition of chiton teeth, and brought the house down with lasers leaving "cavities" in the samples. 

SO PROUD to share that Madison was awarded an Honorable Mention on her GRFP... and then won the NDSEG! This incredibly prestigious fellowship will fund her studies for 3 years as she pursues the evolutionary origins of the iron-clad teeth of chitons!

Great to be at SICB and to reconnect with science family from afar. Rebecca is proud to be on 3 talks ranging from sea spiders to jellyfish eyes. Looking forward to exciting science to come!

The Varney Lab went to SICB in Portland, Oregon. Mady presented the first poster of her PhD, and REU student Khrista Nicholas also presented a poster!