NYU will host Jason Munshi-South, a biologist at Fordham University, for “A Tale of Two Rodents: Contemporary Evolution in New York City and Beyond,” its annual Darwin Lecture, on Friday, March 10.

A rodent coming up and out of a drain
(c)iStock/va103

New York University will host Jason Munshi-South, a biologist at Fordham University, for “A Tale of Two Rodents: Contemporary Evolution in New York City and Beyond,” its annual Darwin Lecture, on Friday, March 10, 4 p.m. at NYU’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology Auditorium (12 Waverly Place, betw. Greene and Mercer Sts.).
 
Over 50 percent of the human population now live in cities, which contain unique communities of native and non-native species, including pests with long histories of association with humans. Evolutionary biologists have recently documented several cases of evolution of these species in response to urbanization, and it is increasingly apparent that cities may be hotspots of rapid evolution. In this lecture, Munshi-South will examine evolutionary questions using New York City’s rodents as case studies—focusing on both native and non-native rodents that inhabit the Big Apple.

Munshi-South, an associate professor at Fordham, is part of the Louis Calder Center (LCC)—the university’s Biological Field Station. His lab has recently begun investigating the population genomics of New York City rats—and populations around the world—to understand how they use urban space, how they have adapted to new urban conditions, and how they are related to rat populations around the world. 

The talk will be introduced by Michael Purugganan, NYU’s dean for science, and NYU Biology Professor David Fitch.

The lecture is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by the university’s Dean for Science, the Biology Department and the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, email biology@nyu.edu or call 212.998.8209. Subways: N/R [8th St.], 6 [Astor Pl.])

EDITOR’S NOTE:
New York University’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology
The faculty at NYU’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology are integrating vast amounts of genomic data into systems and networks to predictively model the regulatory mechanisms controlling life, at the level of single cells, tissues, and across the six kingdoms of life. These studies, which span the genomes of a range of model organisms from bacteria to animals and plants, have implications for human health and agriculture. Potential applications include the development of new diagnostics for in vitro fertilization, treatment of disease states such as malaria, and alterations of organisms for practical gain, such as biofuels or nitrogen-use efficiency. The research involves the combined skills of genomicists, bioinformaticians, systematists, and evolutionary biologists all working together in signature open plan “loft” laboratories in a new 70,000-square- foot, state-of-the-art Genome Center Science building located at the heart of NYU’s Washington Square campus. 

 

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