Jeanne Serb
Iowa State University, IA·Ecology & Evolution
Eyes have evolved many separate times across the animal kingdom. Yet eyes are costly to build, run and maintain.
- Fields
Ecology & Evolution
Biology
Education Research
- Topics
eye evolution
eye loss
eye regression
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Apr 2028
What they work on
- Compare eye structure and function between deep- and shallow-dwelling scallops and relatives (Pectinoidea) to find how eyes change in dim or dark ocean environments.
- Build a time-calibrated evolutionary tree of Pectinoidea using anchored hybrid enrichment of shared DNA regions, then estimate when and how many times eyes regressed or were lost and whether this tracks invasion of dark zones.
- Train high school teachers in university labs on field and lab projects about how organisms adapt to environmental change through genome, epigenome and environment interactions, with year-round coaching to turn research into classroom lessons.
More about the research
In dim light, animals tend to have eyes that capture as much light as possible at the cost of sharp images. In total darkness, eyes may shrink or disappear. The lab's research asks how environments shape the evolution of eyes, using scallops and their relatives as the study group. A second project brings this broader question of how organisms adapt or fail to adapt to a changing environment into high school classrooms through a research program for teachers.
Why it matters
Resolving the scallop family tree and when their eyes were lost would show how light environments drive the regression of complex traits. It would also provide genetic resources for bivalves, a diverse but understudied group. The curricula and teacher training could help high school teachers and students understand evolution, adaptation and how research is done.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Duane McKenna
University of Memphis, TN·Ecology & Evolution
Reconstruct the first comprehensive phylogeny of longhorned beetles using more than 500 nuclear genes from over 600 species, collected by anchored hybrid enrichment sequencing and supported by genomes of key species.
Daniel Proud
Moravian University, PA·Ecology & Evolution·Early-career
Build a phylogenomic framework for two Neotropical harvestman clades using ultraconserved elements (UCEs), drawing specimens from natural history museum collections and field expeditions.
Meredith Protas
University of San Francisco, CA·Genetics
Map the genome regions responsible for eye loss in two cave populations of the crustacean Asellus aquaticus and in a surface-population intercross, using RADseq (restriction site-associated DNA sequencing) to read markers across the genome.
The school
Iowa State University: 23 labs on PI Pages, $462M a year on research, 327 research doctorates a year.
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