Lauren Hennelly
@laurenhennelly.bsky.social
Assistant Professor in the Department of BioSciences at Rice University
Evolutionary and population genomics, conservation, reproductive biology, canids
https://sites.google.com/view/laurenhennelly
Evolutionary and population genomics, conservation, reproductive biology, canids
https://sites.google.com/view/laurenhennelly
Pinned
Thrilled to announce I'll be starting as an Assistant Professor in the Department of BioSciences at Rice University in the fall!🦉🥳
My lab will study how animals evolve, adapt, and are impacted by anthropogenic change using genomic tools. I'll be recruiting grad students in 2026. More info soon! 🧬
My lab will study how animals evolve, adapt, and are impacted by anthropogenic change using genomic tools. I'll be recruiting grad students in 2026. More info soon! 🧬
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Our paper in the PNAS Special Feature on 🐕 is out!
We demonstrated the accuracy of imputing ancient canid genomes, looked at inbreeding levels over the past 10,000 years and found genomic regions resistant to ROH which were enriched for immunity and chemosensory genes.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We demonstrated the accuracy of imputing ancient canid genomes, looked at inbreeding levels over the past 10,000 years and found genomic regions resistant to ROH which were enriched for immunity and chemosensory genes.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Imputation of ancient canid genomes reveals inbreeding history over the past 10,000 years | PNAS
The multi-millennia-long history between dogs and humans has placed them at the forefront
of archaeological and genomic research. Despite ongoing e...
www.pnas.org
December 1, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Our paper in the PNAS Special Feature on 🐕 is out!
We demonstrated the accuracy of imputing ancient canid genomes, looked at inbreeding levels over the past 10,000 years and found genomic regions resistant to ROH which were enriched for immunity and chemosensory genes.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We demonstrated the accuracy of imputing ancient canid genomes, looked at inbreeding levels over the past 10,000 years and found genomic regions resistant to ROH which were enriched for immunity and chemosensory genes.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Still time to register for the our next AaRCademy workshop on demographic history! Deadline is December 5th! #aDNA
And the registration is open for our next AaRCademy workshop! Join us on February 3rd to learn how to reconstruct the demographic history of a population with Pablo Librado. Registration through the QR code or following this link: tinyurl.com/2nysdwhv
December 1, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Still time to register for the our next AaRCademy workshop on demographic history! Deadline is December 5th! #aDNA
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Wisconsin Evolution is accepting applications for our Seminar Series' Early Career Scientist Award. Come share your evolution research and visit UW-Madison's evolution community. Open to grad students and postdocs (<5 yrs post PhD) from outside UW-Madison.
Apply by Dec 15th here: shorturl.at/4a4O6
Apply by Dec 15th here: shorturl.at/4a4O6
Early Career Scientist Awards 2026
Application to the UW-Madison Evolution Seminar Series - Early Career Scientist Awards.
urldefense.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Wisconsin Evolution is accepting applications for our Seminar Series' Early Career Scientist Award. Come share your evolution research and visit UW-Madison's evolution community. Open to grad students and postdocs (<5 yrs post PhD) from outside UW-Madison.
Apply by Dec 15th here: shorturl.at/4a4O6
Apply by Dec 15th here: shorturl.at/4a4O6
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Nature research paper: An ancient recombination desert is a speciation supergene in placental mammals
go.nature.com/47UiBWa
go.nature.com/47UiBWa
An ancient recombination desert is a speciation supergene in placental mammals - Nature
Deep learning methods identified a large and evolutionarily conserved X-linked low recombination region in placental mammals that serves as both a barrier to gene flow in hybridizing lineages and an accurate phylogenomic marker.
go.nature.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Nature research paper: An ancient recombination desert is a speciation supergene in placental mammals
go.nature.com/47UiBWa
go.nature.com/47UiBWa
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Genetic offset and vulnerability modeling under climate change scenarios: common misinterpretations and violations of evolutionary principles
academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
Genetic offset and vulnerability modeling under climate change scenarios: common misinterpretations and violations of evolutionary principles
Abstract. Genetic offset models have become a popular component of the landscape genetics toolbox, with over 600 peer-reviewed publications applying these
academic.oup.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Genetic offset and vulnerability modeling under climate change scenarios: common misinterpretations and violations of evolutionary principles
academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Our new study just came out taking a look at how drought influences human-wildlife conflict reports in California! Check it out here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 12, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Our new study just came out taking a look at how drought influences human-wildlife conflict reports in California! Check it out here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Hi Bluesky community - I'm teaching computational genomics again in the Spring term; always happy to have auditors or folks Zoom in. Just have your students email me for deets.
November 11, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Hi Bluesky community - I'm teaching computational genomics again in the Spring term; always happy to have auditors or folks Zoom in. Just have your students email me for deets.
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Seasonal vs opportunistic breeders, a seasonal morphological and endocrine comparative study of the gonadal cycle in birds | www.sciencedirect.co... | General and Comparative Endocrinology | #ornithology 🪶
Seasonal vs opportunistic breeders, a seasonal morphological and endocrine comparative study of the gonadal cycle in birds
Avian reproduction is usually seasonal and strongly influenced by environmental factors, primarily photoperiod, which is mainly perceived by deep brai…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Seasonal vs opportunistic breeders, a seasonal morphological and endocrine comparative study of the gonadal cycle in birds | www.sciencedirect.co... | General and Comparative Endocrinology | #ornithology 🪶
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Gestation length both shapes and is shaped by other life history traits in terrestrial eutherian mammals
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Thodoris Danis et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Thodoris Danis et al.
Gestation length both shapes and is shaped by other life history traits in terrestrial eutherian mammals
Abstract. The length of gestation in eutherian mammals, which is key to their reproductive success, is closely connected to other life history traits, body
doi.org
November 5, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Gestation length both shapes and is shaped by other life history traits in terrestrial eutherian mammals
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Thodoris Danis et al.
doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by Thodoris Danis et al.
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Applications are currently being accepted for UBC's ✨️ Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship ✨️ (two positions!!), due Jan. 15
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunities
Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2-year (2026-2028) - 2 positions OPENAt UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in resea...
biodiversity.ubc.ca
November 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Applications are currently being accepted for UBC's ✨️ Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship ✨️ (two positions!!), due Jan. 15
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Please share far and wide 🚀
(See thread)
Check out some awesome research going on at Rice University! 🦇🦇🦇
Studying at #RiceUniversity means sharing the city with hundreds of thousands of urban bats — perfect for my research on the physiology of #bat migration. In honor of #InternationalBatWeek 🦇, check out the local bat #research occurring throughout #Houston below 👇
graduate.rice.edu/news/current...
graduate.rice.edu/news/current...
Rice Graduate Student Tracks Houston’s Bat Population to Unlock Secrets of Health and Ecology
YouTube video by Rice Grad Studies
youtu.be
October 24, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Check out some awesome research going on at Rice University! 🦇🦇🦇
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
All those questions about inbreeding in conservation that you were afraid to ask.
A bunch of early career scientists is here to explain something that even Wright and Fisher couldn't agree on, the (not so) simple question of what is inbreeding.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A bunch of early career scientists is here to explain something that even Wright and Fisher couldn't agree on, the (not so) simple question of what is inbreeding.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Q&A: inbreeding and its implications for conservation - BMC Biology
Inbreeding depression plays a role in the decline, endangerment, and extinction of small populations, and thus inbreeding has received much attention in conservation biology. The term inbreeding is us...
link.springer.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:43 AM
All those questions about inbreeding in conservation that you were afraid to ask.
A bunch of early career scientists is here to explain something that even Wright and Fisher couldn't agree on, the (not so) simple question of what is inbreeding.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A bunch of early career scientists is here to explain something that even Wright and Fisher couldn't agree on, the (not so) simple question of what is inbreeding.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Our Q&A on inbreeding and its implications for conservation is out!
Our Q&A article on inbreeding for conservation is out in BMC Biology!
We discuss some important key concepts related to inbreeding in the light of new genomic tools and what it means for conservation when we want to improve species survival.
#consgen
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
We discuss some important key concepts related to inbreeding in the light of new genomic tools and what it means for conservation when we want to improve species survival.
#consgen
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Q&A: inbreeding and its implications for conservation - BMC Biology
Inbreeding depression plays a role in the decline, endangerment, and extinction of small populations, and thus inbreeding has received much attention in conservation biology. The term inbreeding is us...
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Our Q&A on inbreeding and its implications for conservation is out!
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Happy to see my former @nbis.se advisory program student Zach Nolen's new pipeline PopGLen for analyses of short-read data using genotype-likelihood based methods out!
Github: github.com/zjnolen/PopG...
Paper: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
Github: github.com/zjnolen/PopG...
Paper: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
PopGLen—A Snakemake pipeline for performing population genomic analyses using genotype likelihood-based methods
AbstractSummary. PopGLen is a Snakemake workflow for performing population genomic analyses within a genotype-likelihood framework, integrating steps for r
academic.oup.com
March 20, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Happy to see my former @nbis.se advisory program student Zach Nolen's new pipeline PopGLen for analyses of short-read data using genotype-likelihood based methods out!
Github: github.com/zjnolen/PopG...
Paper: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
Github: github.com/zjnolen/PopG...
Paper: academic.oup.com/bioinformati...
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Attempted eradication of smallmouth bass promotes rapid evolution. Here's the study that is the focus of the Scientific American article: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
October 12, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Attempted eradication of smallmouth bass promotes rapid evolution. Here's the study that is the focus of the Scientific American article: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
First-ever IUCN Red List Assessment of the Indian wolf is out!
www.iucnredlist.org/species/2239...
Listed as Vulnerable - facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
We estimated only ~2,877–3,310 mature individuals left.
The time to act is now to conserve this evolutionarily distinct wolf 🐺
www.iucnredlist.org/species/2239...
Listed as Vulnerable - facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
We estimated only ~2,877–3,310 mature individuals left.
The time to act is now to conserve this evolutionarily distinct wolf 🐺
October 10, 2025 at 9:06 PM
First-ever IUCN Red List Assessment of the Indian wolf is out!
www.iucnredlist.org/species/2239...
Listed as Vulnerable - facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
We estimated only ~2,877–3,310 mature individuals left.
The time to act is now to conserve this evolutionarily distinct wolf 🐺
www.iucnredlist.org/species/2239...
Listed as Vulnerable - facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
We estimated only ~2,877–3,310 mature individuals left.
The time to act is now to conserve this evolutionarily distinct wolf 🐺
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Delighted that our paper about the distribution of genomic spans of clades/edges in genealogies (ARGs), and using this for detecting inversions and other SVs (and other phenomena that cause local disruption of recombination) is out in MBE academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... (1/n)
The Length of Haplotype Blocks and Signals of Structural Variation in Reconstructed Genealogies
Abstract. Recent breakthroughs have enabled the accurate inference of large-scale genealogies. Through modelling the impact of recombination on the correla
academic.oup.com
October 3, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Delighted that our paper about the distribution of genomic spans of clades/edges in genealogies (ARGs), and using this for detecting inversions and other SVs (and other phenomena that cause local disruption of recombination) is out in MBE academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... (1/n)
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Just published: Conservation genomics of two
endangered buntings reveal genetic diversity
before and after severe population declines. doi.org/10.1186/s129... Despite severe population declines, both species retained high genetic diversity but experienced increased inbreeding. #ornithology #birds
endangered buntings reveal genetic diversity
before and after severe population declines. doi.org/10.1186/s129... Despite severe population declines, both species retained high genetic diversity but experienced increased inbreeding. #ornithology #birds
October 1, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Just published: Conservation genomics of two
endangered buntings reveal genetic diversity
before and after severe population declines. doi.org/10.1186/s129... Despite severe population declines, both species retained high genetic diversity but experienced increased inbreeding. #ornithology #birds
endangered buntings reveal genetic diversity
before and after severe population declines. doi.org/10.1186/s129... Despite severe population declines, both species retained high genetic diversity but experienced increased inbreeding. #ornithology #birds
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Let’s talk about sperm. Almost all passerine birds have filiform sperm with corkscrew-shaped heads. Not the red-browed finch. This species has highly atypical sperm morphology. Check it out!
Independent evolution of atypical sperm morphology in a passerine bird:
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
@melissahrowe.bsky.social @danielmhooper.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
@melissahrowe.bsky.social @danielmhooper.bsky.social
October 1, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Let’s talk about sperm. Almost all passerine birds have filiform sperm with corkscrew-shaped heads. Not the red-browed finch. This species has highly atypical sperm morphology. Check it out!
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
Come join us at Rice!
The Dept. of BioSciences at #RiceUniversity, in Houston, Texas, invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in Evolutionary Biology, with a preferred focus on organismal responses to environmental change. Please RT!
Apply: apply.interfolio.com/173889
Apply: apply.interfolio.com/173889
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Come join us at Rice!
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
New paper alert!!!🚨 in our new study we find that Antarctic icefishes added a new module in their skulls during their adaptive radiation special shout out to @mayaranevesbio.bsky.social who led this project!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
September 29, 2025 at 8:05 PM
New paper alert!!!🚨 in our new study we find that Antarctic icefishes added a new module in their skulls during their adaptive radiation special shout out to @mayaranevesbio.bsky.social who led this project!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
The Dept of BioSciences at Rice University is hiring an Assistant Professor in Evolution, with a preferred focus on organismal responses to environmental change! Such a great department and great people, its been a fantastic last month starting as a new professor here!
apply.interfolio.com/173889
apply.interfolio.com/173889
September 26, 2025 at 5:53 PM
The Dept of BioSciences at Rice University is hiring an Assistant Professor in Evolution, with a preferred focus on organismal responses to environmental change! Such a great department and great people, its been a fantastic last month starting as a new professor here!
apply.interfolio.com/173889
apply.interfolio.com/173889
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
The Dept. of BioSciences at #RiceUniversity, in Houston, Texas, invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in Evolutionary Biology, with a preferred focus on organismal responses to environmental change. Please RT!
Apply: apply.interfolio.com/173889
Apply: apply.interfolio.com/173889
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 12, 2025 at 6:45 PM
The Dept. of BioSciences at #RiceUniversity, in Houston, Texas, invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in Evolutionary Biology, with a preferred focus on organismal responses to environmental change. Please RT!
Apply: apply.interfolio.com/173889
Apply: apply.interfolio.com/173889
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
The first Aguillon Lab paper is officially out in early view at Evolution!! Led by postdoc @devonderaad.bsky.social, we’ve explored the hybrid zone between black-headed and rose-breasted grosbeaks in the Great Plains. #ornithology #hybridization #speciation #evolution doi.org/10.1093/evol...
September 12, 2025 at 3:49 PM
The first Aguillon Lab paper is officially out in early view at Evolution!! Led by postdoc @devonderaad.bsky.social, we’ve explored the hybrid zone between black-headed and rose-breasted grosbeaks in the Great Plains. #ornithology #hybridization #speciation #evolution doi.org/10.1093/evol...
Reposted by Lauren Hennelly
While full solicitation isn’t up, looks like we have 2025 proposal deadlines for the GRFP: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov
September 8, 2025 at 6:10 PM
While full solicitation isn’t up, looks like we have 2025 proposal deadlines for the GRFP: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...