Division of Phylogenetics and Comparative Biology
Fall Newsletter 2019
- Message from the Secretary
- Message from the Program Officer
- Message from the Student/Postdoctoral Affairs Committee Representative
Message from the Secretary, Haley O’Brien, secretary.dpcb@sicb.org
This year’s Ask-An-Expert Booth is sure to be another hit! Returning volunteers include Drs. Samantha Price, Ryan Felice, Kevin Kocot, Lars Schmitz, and Anthony Gilbert. They’ll be on-hand during the poster sessions to answer your questions about comparative methods, R-stats, genomics, trait evolution, and more! Stay tuned to our DPCB social media channels for schedules and updates. Interested in adding more outreach and networking opportunities to your CV? Reach out to any of the DPCB Officers for more information about volunteering at the booth next year.

We’re continuing our efforts to overhaul the DPCB Researchers Database (http://bit.ly/DPCBresearchers) this year. This page hosts images and short paragraphs highlighting the work of our members, and is an excellent opportunity to share your interests and recruit students. Students are also encouraged to submit short biographies to showcase their research and future goals.
2020 Elections & Nominating Committees: In 2020, we will be holding elections for DPCB Secretary and Chair. DPCB Secretary will hold the office of Secretary Elect for one year, followed by three years of service to the division. DPCB Chair will hold the office of Chair Elect for one year, followed by three years of service as Chair and two years of service as Past Chair. For more information about each position, please see the DPCB Bylaws: http://sicb.org/about/constitution.php3#dsebbylaws
This year, we have formed a nominating committee for DPCB Secretary Elect candidates, consisting of all current DPCB Officers & Officers Elect: Chair David Blackburn, Program Officer Todd Oakley, Program Officer Elect Leigha Lynch, and Secretary Haley O’Brien. We will form a nominating committee of two non-officer DPCB members to identify candidates for DPCB Chair at the 2020 divisional members meeting.
Please notify any DPCB Officer if you would like to run for either position.

Message from the Program Officer, Todd Oakley, dpo.dpcb@sicb.org
DPCB advocates the use of phylogenetic methods to address comparative and integrative questions and will be supporting multiple symposia for the 2020 SICB meeting in Austin, including:
- Reproduction: the female perspective from an integrative and comparative framework
- Building Bridges from Genome to Phenome: Molecules, Methods and Models
- Melding Modeling and Morphology: integrating approaches to understand the evolution of form and function
- Integrative comparative cognition: can neurobiology and neurogenomics inform comparative analyses of cognitive phenotype?
Message from the Student/Postdoctoral Affairs Committee Representative, Jonathan Chang, jchang641@gmail.com
Temporary Representative for 2020 meeting: Emily Lessner, ejlessner@mail.missouri.edu
Just a reminder to stay connected with the DPCB community on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SICBDPCB/ and Twitter: https://twitter.com/sicb_dpcb
In addition, the student-postdoctoral affairs committee has compiled a number of resources for your use. We ran an online course and in-person brown bag workshop at the SICB meeting, led by Zen Faulkes and creator of betterposters.blogspot.com, to help you design informative and stylish posters.
At the Austin 2020 meeting, we are planning a workshop focused on career transitions in science, from undergrad to grad school to postdocs and beyond. Please reach out if you have any suggestions!
Note: Jonathan will be unable to join us in Austin for the 2020 meeting. Emily Lessner, a Ph.D. Student in Integrative Anatomy in the Holliday Lab at the University of Missouri, will be filling in. Welcome to the DPCB team, Emily!
