Andi Kautt
@akautt.bsky.social
evolutionary genomics; adaptation; speciation; behavior 🧬🐠🐭
Assist. Prof. at WashU in St. Louis Biology
he/him
Assist. Prof. at WashU in St. Louis Biology
he/him
Pinned
Andi Kautt
@akautt.bsky.social
· Oct 3
Postdoctoral Research Associate - Biology
Position Summary A postdoctoral position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Andreas Kautt in the Department of Biology on the Danforth Campus at WashU in St. Louis. The Kautt Lab studies the mechan...
tinyurl.com
Reposting this open postdoc position with more detailed specifications. Couldn't find the right fit in the first round—not due to lack of strong candidates, but because we're looking for someone whose expertise matches a specific project. More details in the job ad. Apply!
tinyurl.com/2uskxyrp
tinyurl.com/2uskxyrp
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Thrilled to finally share the magnum opus of my PhD that focuses on the genetic basis of evolutionary change! Specifically, we know we can map the genetic basis of a trait, but can we tell which genes will underlie the trait shift when it evolves? doi.org/10.1101/2025...
High-resolution mapping of a rapidly evolving complex trait reveals genotype-phenotype stability and an unpredictable genetic architecture of adaptation
The extent to which adaptation can be predicted, particularly for traits with complex genetic bases, is unknown. Here, we leveraged a model complex trait, model species, and high-powered longitudinal ...
doi.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Thrilled to finally share the magnum opus of my PhD that focuses on the genetic basis of evolutionary change! Specifically, we know we can map the genetic basis of a trait, but can we tell which genes will underlie the trait shift when it evolves? doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Fully funded #PhDposition in Comparative Cultural Psychology @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social.
We will use touchscreen experiments & eyetracking to study mental simulations in nonhuman apes & human children across different cultures.
All info here: www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...
Please share / apply!🙏
We will use touchscreen experiments & eyetracking to study mental simulations in nonhuman apes & human children across different cultures.
All info here: www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...
Please share / apply!🙏
Positions available - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
www.eva.mpg.de
November 13, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Fully funded #PhDposition in Comparative Cultural Psychology @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social.
We will use touchscreen experiments & eyetracking to study mental simulations in nonhuman apes & human children across different cultures.
All info here: www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...
Please share / apply!🙏
We will use touchscreen experiments & eyetracking to study mental simulations in nonhuman apes & human children across different cultures.
All info here: www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...
Please share / apply!🙏
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Heading to San Diego for #sfn25 today! I’ll be presenting a poster on this work Monday afternoon!
looking forward to meeting neuroscientists! please stop by my poster or reach out if you’re going and want to talk motor neuro/behavior, evolution, neuroethology…or whatever else! 🧠🥳 #neuroskyence
looking forward to meeting neuroscientists! please stop by my poster or reach out if you’re going and want to talk motor neuro/behavior, evolution, neuroethology…or whatever else! 🧠🥳 #neuroskyence
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
November 13, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Heading to San Diego for #sfn25 today! I’ll be presenting a poster on this work Monday afternoon!
looking forward to meeting neuroscientists! please stop by my poster or reach out if you’re going and want to talk motor neuro/behavior, evolution, neuroethology…or whatever else! 🧠🥳 #neuroskyence
looking forward to meeting neuroscientists! please stop by my poster or reach out if you’re going and want to talk motor neuro/behavior, evolution, neuroethology…or whatever else! 🧠🥳 #neuroskyence
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Met my books for the first time. 'Who Discovered How to Breathe Underwater?: Jacques Cousteau' by @nedlazaruswolfe.bsky.social and me is out now! #unboxing
November 8, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Met my books for the first time. 'Who Discovered How to Breathe Underwater?: Jacques Cousteau' by @nedlazaruswolfe.bsky.social and me is out now! #unboxing
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Applications are now open for the @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social Alan Kanzer Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Deadline: December 16, 2025
bit.ly/KanzerFellows
Deadline: December 16, 2025
bit.ly/KanzerFellows
Alan Kanzer Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
bit.ly
November 8, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Applications are now open for the @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social Alan Kanzer Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Deadline: December 16, 2025
bit.ly/KanzerFellows
Deadline: December 16, 2025
bit.ly/KanzerFellows
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Philosophy & neuroscience of smell, some of my key refs
(1) Smellosophy (book) www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
(2) Smell is spatial link.springer.com/article/10.1...
(3) No odor objects www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
(4) No neural map/representation onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
(1) Smellosophy (book) www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
(2) Smell is spatial link.springer.com/article/10.1...
(3) No odor objects www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
(4) No neural map/representation onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Smellosophy — Harvard University Press
An NRC Handelsblad Book of the Year“Offers rich discussions of olfactory perception, the conscious and subconscious impacts of smell on behavior and emotion.”—ScienceDecades of cognition research have...
www.hup.harvard.edu
October 26, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Philosophy & neuroscience of smell, some of my key refs
(1) Smellosophy (book) www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
(2) Smell is spatial link.springer.com/article/10.1...
(3) No odor objects www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
(4) No neural map/representation onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
(1) Smellosophy (book) www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
(2) Smell is spatial link.springer.com/article/10.1...
(3) No odor objects www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
(4) No neural map/representation onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Andi Kautt
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
www.science.org
October 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Anyone looking for an undergrad research assistant this coming summer? I have a truly phenomenal undergrad with expertise in genetic mapping, long read sequencing & bioinformatics who wants experience in another lab before grad school. She has been in our lab for 3 years & writing her first paper!
October 23, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Anyone looking for an undergrad research assistant this coming summer? I have a truly phenomenal undergrad with expertise in genetic mapping, long read sequencing & bioinformatics who wants experience in another lab before grad school. She has been in our lab for 3 years & writing her first paper!
Reposted by Andi Kautt
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
October 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
Reposted by Andi Kautt
One of the most exciting works of my career, years in the making. We used high-throughput precision genome editing to test the fitness effects of thousands of natural variants. Our findings challenge the long-held assumption that common variants are inconsequential.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Massively parallel interrogation of the fitness of natural variants in ancient signaling pathways reveals pervasive local adaptation
The nature of standing genetic variation remains a central debate in population genetics, with differing perspectives on whether common variants are almost always neutral as suggested by neutral and n...
www.biorxiv.org
October 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
One of the most exciting works of my career, years in the making. We used high-throughput precision genome editing to test the fitness effects of thousands of natural variants. Our findings challenge the long-held assumption that common variants are inconsequential.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Reposted by Andi Kautt
This semester, for our Plant & Micro Biosci Grad program, I'm developing a new course on ✨Peer Review✨ & critical thinking. Final project is a full review of a preprint!
I'd love to have a journal editor zoom with the class to share their perspective and do a Q&A.
Anyone interested?
Pls share!
I'd love to have a journal editor zoom with the class to share their perspective and do a Q&A.
Anyone interested?
Pls share!
a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a blackboard with the words " anyone ? anyone ? "
ALT: a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a blackboard with the words " anyone ? anyone ? "
media.tenor.com
October 19, 2025 at 4:47 AM
This semester, for our Plant & Micro Biosci Grad program, I'm developing a new course on ✨Peer Review✨ & critical thinking. Final project is a full review of a preprint!
I'd love to have a journal editor zoom with the class to share their perspective and do a Q&A.
Anyone interested?
Pls share!
I'd love to have a journal editor zoom with the class to share their perspective and do a Q&A.
Anyone interested?
Pls share!
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Episode 112 of #MattersMicrobial! Dr. Petra Levin joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss bacterial cell size, pH, and antibiotic sensitivity. PLEASE spread the #GoodMicrobialWord. Petra is inspirational. @univpugetsound @asmicrobiology @microbe.tv
youtu.be/YPNAvJYAq-s?...
youtu.be/YPNAvJYAq-s?...
October 17, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Episode 112 of #MattersMicrobial! Dr. Petra Levin joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss bacterial cell size, pH, and antibiotic sensitivity. PLEASE spread the #GoodMicrobialWord. Petra is inspirational. @univpugetsound @asmicrobiology @microbe.tv
youtu.be/YPNAvJYAq-s?...
youtu.be/YPNAvJYAq-s?...
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Sharing our new paper, "Distinct haplotypes and reversed dominance at a single-gene balanced polymorphism controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts". Genomics & evolution of a mating type system involving two morphs with alternating sexes in walnut relatives www.cell.com/current-biol...
Distinct haplotypes and reversed dominance at a single-gene balanced polymorphism controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts
In most species within the walnut family, two genetically determined morphs alternate
between male and female flowering phases in time. Groh et al. identify a distinct
locus for this dimorphism in two...
www.cell.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Sharing our new paper, "Distinct haplotypes and reversed dominance at a single-gene balanced polymorphism controlling heterodichogamy in two genera of wingnuts". Genomics & evolution of a mating type system involving two morphs with alternating sexes in walnut relatives www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
October 16, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
Reposted by Andi Kautt
I'm recruiting a postdoc for my group (based in beautiful Eugene, OR). Please get in touch if you're interested, esp if you'd like to chat at #ASHG25!
We'll primarily work at the intersection of statistical and population genetics, and we also have active projects related to the ethical and social implications of human genetics (ELSI). Please get in touch if that's a combination that sounds interesting to you!
October 15, 2025 at 12:52 PM
I'm recruiting a postdoc for my group (based in beautiful Eugene, OR). Please get in touch if you're interested, esp if you'd like to chat at #ASHG25!
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Hey grad students studying animal behavior! Need a little extra research $$? (Don't we all?)
Apply for an ABS Student Research Grant! We award grants up to $2,000 to grad students & give feedback on the proposals. Deadline Dec 15.
More info here: www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/awards-s...
Apply for an ABS Student Research Grant! We award grants up to $2,000 to grad students & give feedback on the proposals. Deadline Dec 15.
More info here: www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/awards-s...
October 9, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Hey grad students studying animal behavior! Need a little extra research $$? (Don't we all?)
Apply for an ABS Student Research Grant! We award grants up to $2,000 to grad students & give feedback on the proposals. Deadline Dec 15.
More info here: www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/awards-s...
Apply for an ABS Student Research Grant! We award grants up to $2,000 to grad students & give feedback on the proposals. Deadline Dec 15.
More info here: www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/awards-s...
Reposted by Andi Kautt
We are recruiting a fully-funded PhD student to work on the evolution and mechanisms of intestinal remodelling in lampreys. @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk @uofgmvls.bsky.social
www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...
www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...
October 9, 2025 at 8:25 PM
We are recruiting a fully-funded PhD student to work on the evolution and mechanisms of intestinal remodelling in lampreys. @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk @uofgmvls.bsky.social
www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...
www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Inference of complex demographic history using composite likelihood based on whole-genome genealogies https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.07.680347v1
October 9, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Inference of complex demographic history using composite likelihood based on whole-genome genealogies https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.07.680347v1
Reposted by Andi Kautt
We are recruiting PhD students! If you are interested in evolutionary neuroscience, consider applying: www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Prieto Godino Lab | Cellular and molecular bases of neural circuit and behavioural evolution
www.crick.ac.uk
October 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM
We are recruiting PhD students! If you are interested in evolutionary neuroscience, consider applying: www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Reposted by Andi Kautt
New paper out! A nice collaboration.
We explore how olfactory brain structures and receptors evolved across this remarkable group, Heliconiini butterflies.
We explore how olfactory brain structures and receptors evolved across this remarkable group, Heliconiini butterflies.
Evolution of the olfactory system during the radiation of Heliconiini butterflies
Abstract. Sensory system evolution plays a crucial role in shaping species’ interactions with their environment, yet the extent to which olfactory system d
academic.oup.com
October 7, 2025 at 6:43 PM
New paper out! A nice collaboration.
We explore how olfactory brain structures and receptors evolved across this remarkable group, Heliconiini butterflies.
We explore how olfactory brain structures and receptors evolved across this remarkable group, Heliconiini butterflies.
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Having personally sworn for years that insects don’t use GPCRs for odour detection, Suguru Takagi (@sugurutakagi.bsky.social) discovers that, in fact, they sometimes do …
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A GPCR signaling pathway in insect odor detection
Odor detection differs fundamentally in vertebrates, which use G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and insects, which employ ion channels. Here, we report the first evidence for a GPCR defining tunin...
www.biorxiv.org
October 6, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Having personally sworn for years that insects don’t use GPCRs for odour detection, Suguru Takagi (@sugurutakagi.bsky.social) discovers that, in fact, they sometimes do …
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposting this open postdoc position with more detailed specifications. Couldn't find the right fit in the first round—not due to lack of strong candidates, but because we're looking for someone whose expertise matches a specific project. More details in the job ad. Apply!
tinyurl.com/2uskxyrp
tinyurl.com/2uskxyrp
Postdoctoral Research Associate - Biology
Position Summary A postdoctoral position is available in the laboratory of Dr. Andreas Kautt in the Department of Biology on the Danforth Campus at WashU in St. Louis. The Kautt Lab studies the mechan...
tinyurl.com
October 3, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposting this open postdoc position with more detailed specifications. Couldn't find the right fit in the first round—not due to lack of strong candidates, but because we're looking for someone whose expertise matches a specific project. More details in the job ad. Apply!
tinyurl.com/2uskxyrp
tinyurl.com/2uskxyrp
Reposted by Andi Kautt
Fyi if you're an educator looking for videos about the brain and/or how neuroscience is done, check out
@brainfacts.org's YouTube page: youtube.com/@brainfactsorg
It includes submissions to their Brain Awareness Week video contest, which can be quite fun! #neuroskyence
@brainfacts.org's YouTube page: youtube.com/@brainfactsorg
It includes submissions to their Brain Awareness Week video contest, which can be quite fun! #neuroskyence
BrainFacts.org
BrainFacts.org is an authoritative source of information about the brain and nervous system for the public. The site is a public information initiative of The Kavli Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable F...
youtube.com
September 29, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Fyi if you're an educator looking for videos about the brain and/or how neuroscience is done, check out
@brainfacts.org's YouTube page: youtube.com/@brainfactsorg
It includes submissions to their Brain Awareness Week video contest, which can be quite fun! #neuroskyence
@brainfacts.org's YouTube page: youtube.com/@brainfactsorg
It includes submissions to their Brain Awareness Week video contest, which can be quite fun! #neuroskyence
Reposted by Andi Kautt
I'm looking for PhD students to join the lab starting August 2026. We study the evolution of insect chemical signals so if you're interested in evolutionary biology, chemical ecology, molecular biology, behavior, or genetics, this could be a good fit for you! More info here: tinyurl.com/mrxchwfm
September 11, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I'm looking for PhD students to join the lab starting August 2026. We study the evolution of insect chemical signals so if you're interested in evolutionary biology, chemical ecology, molecular biology, behavior, or genetics, this could be a good fit for you! More info here: tinyurl.com/mrxchwfm