LATEST NEWS

This monthly series, hosted by SSE President Dr. Gina Baucom, consists of conversations with members from several facets of the evolutionary biology community. Throughout 2026, videos will be released monthly with transcripts available on the website. In this interview, Dr. Claire Horner-Devine (Counterspace Consulting) discusses what career coaching is and how it can help academics. 

Watch the video or read the interview here.

SSE Presidential Symposium –  Navigating Uncertainty: Individual Resilience and Collective Action in Evolutionary Biology
May 21, 9:15 AM - 12:30 PM
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, 9:15 AM - 10:30 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
May 21, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Eastern

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. 

This monthly series, hosted by SSE President Dr. Gina Baucom, consists of conversations with members from several facets of the evolutionary biology community. Throughout 2026, videos will be released monthly with transcripts available on the website. In this interview, Evolution Letters Editor in Chief Dr. Judith Mank discusses the use of AI and LLMs in scientific publishing.

Watch the video or read the interview here.

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 will present the Stephen Jay Gould Plenary Public Lecture at the 2026 Evolution meeting on June 20th in Cleveland, OH.

Read more about his work.

Dobzhansky Prize Winner: Dr. Wendy Valencia-Montoya

Congratulations to this year's Dobzhansky Prize winner, Dr. Wendy Valencia-Montoya! Dr. Valencia-Montoya is a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows. Her current research program investigates the molecular basis of specialized species interactions, such as how signals and senses evolve to enable communication between organisms, as well as the molecular pathways that confer resistance in species that have adapted to feed on highly neurotoxic plants. This work brings together evolutionary biology, sensory physiology, and comparative genomics to understand how organisms adapt to rapidly changing environments and how sensory innovations arise. Dr. Valencia-Montoya completed her PhD at Harvard University in 2025. Learn more about her work.

Dr. Valencia-Montoya will present the Dobzhansky Prize talk during the in-person portion of the Evolution meeting in Cleveland, OH in June.

Dobzhansky Prize Honorable Mention: Dr. Sean Anderson

Congratulations to this year’s Honorable Mention for the Dobzhansky Prize, Dr. Sean Anderson! Dr. Anderson is an assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research seeks to understand speciation and the evolution of coexistence between close relatives. This work blends computational biology with field biology and evolutionary ecology with evolutionary genetics, and integrates data from birds to terrestrial vertebrates to wild African drosophila species pairs. He completed his PhD at the University of Toronto in 2022 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill until 2024. Learn more about his work.

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.

Dr. Neiman will present her work during the IDEA Award Plenary at the virtual portion of the Evolution 2026 meeting on May 20-22, 2026.

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 Evolution meeting. Finalists will present their talks during the live-streamed Hamilton Award symposium during the virtual part of the meeting May 20-22. The application to become a Hamilton award finalist will be part of registration for the virtual meeting.

Learn more and submit your abstract by April 15!

We are pleased to announce the call for proposals for the 2026 Graduate Research Excellence Grants (GREGs), which consist of the R. C. Lewontin Early Award and the Rosemary Grant Advanced Award and provide funding for evolutionary biology research for Master’s and PhD students. This year, the GREG program will provide a total of $145,000 in research funds. This amount includes $50,000 from 2025 society journal revenue, which was made possible by authors publishing with Evolution and Evolution Letters. Thank you!

Learn more and apply by May 18, 2026 at 5:00 PM Eastern.

The SSE Nominating Committee invites nominations for five Council positions beginning January 2027: President Elect, North American Vice President, and three Councilors. Nominations are accepted throughout the year, but only nominations submitted by April 1 will be considered for the 2026 ballot. We welcome self nominations. Click "Read more" for descriptions of each position. 

Free registration for the virtual portion of the 2026 Evolution meeting is available to SSE members who reside in one of the 152 countries and territories eligible for the Global Membership Assistance program. Eligible members should request a discount code using the form on the Membership page. If you are not yet a member of SSE, please join before completing the form. 

Learn more and request your registration code.