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Ben Hopkins

@brhopkins92.bsky.social
1.6K followers 471 following 57 posts

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Assistant Professor at University of Florida. Functional, developmental, and evolutionary genetics of organs. hopkins-lab.com

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Reposted by Ben Hopkins
Stuart McDaniel @stuartmcdaniel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
UF Biology is searching for an Assistant Professor in Plant Ecology, pass it along explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/search...
explore.jobs.ufl.edu
University of Florida - Search Results
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Vikram Chandra @vchandra.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I am excited to announce that I will start the Brain Origins Lab at the Crick in March 2027! Using acoels as a model system, the lab will study how animal brains evolve, and how innovations in brain organisation enable new computational abilities and the evolution of complex behaviour.
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
What does it take to evolve a new trait? We have a new paper out that uses the Drosophila sex comb—a male-specific grasping structure found in a subset of drosophilids—as a model to answer this question 1/11
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Great opportunity here!
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Matt Bertone @bertonemyia.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
That's not excessive. THIS is excessive:
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Graham Coop @gcbias.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Davis is an amazing place for plant biology and evolution research. The EVE department is full of wonderful people who care about both research & teaching. It's a great place to build a lab and a life. bsky.app/profile/jros...
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Isabel Almudi @isabelalmudi.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
What happens when evolution adds an extra pair of eyes? Male mayflies evolve an extra pair of dorsal compound eyes, the Turbanate eyes, thought to help males detect females during mating swarms. we have investigate how this remarkable evolutionary novelty develops. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Yichen Luo 骆奕辰 @camellyc.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
1/8 Breathing seems automatic. But it's a finely tuned motor behavior that has to be controlled. In this preprint, I map the circuits that match a fly's respiration to the metabolic demands of flight and mitigate the risk of dehydration. 🧵🪰 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Julia Kreiner @jmkreiner.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
uchicago.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job... The Kreiner and Carley Lab groups are hiring a shared Research Analyst to help lead wet lab protocol development and management. We're a fun group and would love to hear from you :) Get in touch with questions!
uchicago.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Research, Analyst
Department BSD E&E Carley Lab About the Department The Kreiner Lab (kreinerlab.com) and Carley Lab (carleylab.uchicago.edu) in the Department of Ecology & Evolution at The University of Chicag...
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Jeff Groh @jeffgroh.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Avocados come in 2 varieties - A-types start each day female and switch to male midday. B-types do the reverse. In work just published from the last chapter of my PhD, we show this system evolved 40+million yrs ago and is regulated by alleles of 1 transcription factor www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies the ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado | PNAS
In avocado and certain wild relatives in Lauraceae, a highly synchronized daily rhythm of floral sex timing promotes cross-pollination between two ...
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Ceri Weber @ceriweber.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Are you interested in evo devo? Bone and cartilage biology? Animal and human health research? Emerging model systems? Tails?? Recruiting at all levels!
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I’m at #SMBE2026 this week. My lab is looking to hire a postdoc to study the genetic and developmental mechanisms underlying the evolution of organs and cell types. Please reach out if you’re interested!
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Noah Whiteman @nkwhiteman.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
So excited to announce our search for 4 postdocs (funded by the Simons Foundation) who will use genomics to "test how ecological interactions, natural selection, natural enemies, hybridization & environmental gradients shape...tropical tree communities" in Panama: stri.si.edu/story/bci-ev... ...1
stri.si.edu
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
My lab is looking to hire a postdoc to work on the evolution of organs and cell types. I’m at #EED2026 this week. If you’re here too and this sounds interesting then please reach out. Multi-year funding available!
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The Interactive Fly @interactivefly.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Loh, L. S., DeMarr, K. A., Tsimba, M., Heryanto, C., Berrio, A., Patel, N. H., Martin, A., McMillan, W. O., Wray, G. A., Hanly, J. J. (2025). Lepidopteran scale cells derive from sensory organ precursors through a canonical lineage. Development, 152(5) journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
journals.biologists.com
Lepidopteran scale cells derive from sensory organ precursors through a canonical lineage
Summary: The wing scales of butterflies and moths are derived from sensory organ precursors and are homologues of mechanosensory bristles.
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Kenneth Loi @kenjmloi.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Excited to share our discovery of a new programmable RNA-guided DNA-targeting system hiding inside bacteriophages that predates CRISPR. We call it VIPR (Viral Interference Programmable Repeat), and it uses an entirely new logic to find its targets. Thread + link below.
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
I’m looking to hire a postdoc. We’re interested in the evolution of organs and cell types, and evolutionary and developmental genetics more broadly. Please reach out if you’re interested and please pass on to any folks that you know who might be! 🪰🧬
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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
We noticed these fruit flies are behaving like tiny big horn sheep of fly world so we went back today to see if I could get some photos of the action. Here you have it, a play in 4 acts! Make me wonder if they evolved the elongated eyes for this purpose. Zygothrica sp. Intag Refugio, Ecuador
A pair of flies smashing their heads together with front legs clasped. The have black on the abdomen, brown on the thorax, and bright red eyes, They are fighting on the top of a mushroom.The fight continues with the challengers evenly balanced. 

A pair of flies smashing their heads together with front legs clasped. The have black on the abdomen, brown on the thorax, and bright red eyes, They are fighting on the top of a mushroom.The fight continues with the fly on the right seeming to gain an upper hand and pushing the fly on the left backwards. The fly on the right is putting all his might into the battle, back legs in the air. 

A pair of flies smashing their heads together with front legs clasped. The have black on the abdomen, brown on the thorax, and bright red eyes, They are fighting on the top of a mushroom.The fly on the right emerges victorious with the fly on the left exiting toward the back of the scene. 

A pair of flies smashing their heads together with front legs clasped. The have black on the abdomen, brown on the thorax, and bright red eyes, They are fighting on the top of a mushroom.
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
I’m looking to hire a postdoc. We’re interested in the evolution of organs and cell types, and evolutionary and developmental genetics more broadly. Please reach out if you’re interested and please pass on to any folks that you know who might be! 🪰🧬
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Fillip Port @crisprflydesign.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Mapping #CRISPR activity patterns with GRACE. In vivo gene editing sometimes happens at unexpected places. Reporters, such as GRACE, light up the cells that have been mutated. Flies are at @vdrc-flies.bsky.social and plasmids @addgene.bsky.social Described here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Figure showing the principle of the GRACE reporter: CRISPR mutagenesis inactivates an uORF that inhibits GFP translation. Below are several examples of Drosophila wing imaginal discs expressing GRACE and Cas12a+ under control of different Gal4 drivers.
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Amanda Bretman @amandabretman.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Happy to be able to share our review of the consequences of rising temperatures on animal fertility, led by @rhondasnook.bsky.social with @liamdougherty.bsky.social and Claudia Fricke. Research is getting active in this area but there's still a lot of unknowns... rdcu.be/e7uGm
rdcu.be
The consequences of rising temperatures for animal fertility
Nature Reviews Biodiversity - Thermal stress reduces fertility in animals at temperatures below lethal, yet these sublethal effects remain underrepresented in biodiversity forecasts. This Review...
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Quick plug for our new resource, the Drosophila Species Stock Exchange. This is a database and mailing list that documents species currently in culture and the labs holding them. If you want to know more or sign up then please get in touch. See attached for more info and please share!
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Looking forward to #Dros26 this week. My lab is recruiting and I would be delighted to chat with anyone interested in grad school/postdoc positions in evolutionary cell biology and developmental genetics. Please reach out if interested!
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Looking forward to #Dros26 this week. My lab is recruiting and I would be delighted to chat with anyone interested in grad school/postdoc positions in evolutionary cell biology and developmental genetics. Please reach out if interested!
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Aaron Ragsdale @apragsdale.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
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
urldefense.com
Early Career Scientist Awards 2026
Application to the UW-Madison Evolution Seminar Series - Early Career Scientist Awards.
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
One week left to apply for this position!
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Champi @jpascualanaya.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
🚨 We're hiring! 🚨 Our lab at the University of Málaga, Spain🇪🇸 is looking for a bioinformatician researcher for a postdoc position (1+1 years). Check the ad, and if you're interested, get in touch! 📅 Starting date early 2026, with some flexibility. 🙏Please, RT!
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Great to see that our mosquito cell atlas is now out in Cell. Amazing work from @oliviagoldman.net and @nadavshai.bsky.social to organise so much data and so many interesting stories into a single paper!
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
The Hopkins Lab (hopkins-lab.com) at the University of Florida is looking to recruit a postdoc to work on the genetics of organ function and evolution across Drosophila and beyond. Please visit tinyurl.com/vcsjpmzz or email me for more info. And please RT or send to anyone who might be interested!
Ichetucknee Springs State Park, a short drive from Gainesville, FL
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Joe Wynn @joewynnbirds.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
One week left on this! Good opportunity for someone interested in #behaviour, #genomics and #migration to come work will some fun seabirds and some fun people 🧬🐣🛰️ www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
findaphd.com
To lead or to follow: disentangling the genetic and cultural contributions to long-distance seabird migration at University of Liverpool on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - To lead or to follow: disentangling the genetic and cultural contributions to long-distance seabird migration at University of Liverpool, listed on FindAPhD.com
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Mike Barker @barkerms.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
I'm recruiting PhD students for the Barker Lab @uofa-eeb.bsky.social We study plant evolutionary genomics - polyploidy, hybridization & machine learning for genome evolution. Work with Selaginella, Xanthisma, Brassica & more. Funding available via CAMBIUM Fellowships. Reach out if interested! 🧬🌵🤖
The allotetraploid lycophyte Selaginella rupincola growing among the boulders at Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains southeast of Tucson, Arizona.Xanthisma spinulosum growing outside a gym in Tucson, Arizona.Selaginella arizonica X eremophila hybrid zone at Alamo Canyon in Organ Pipe National Monument.A Dieteria sp. being visited by a skipper in the White Mountains of Arizona.
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
The Hopkins Lab (hopkins-lab.com) at the University of Florida is looking to recruit a postdoc to work on the genetics of organ function and evolution across Drosophila and beyond. Please visit tinyurl.com/vcsjpmzz or email me for more info. And please RT or send to anyone who might be interested!
Ichetucknee Springs State Park, a short drive from Gainesville, FL
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Reposted by Ben Hopkins
Kathy Darragh @kdarragh.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
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
Green butterfly sat on a flower.
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Kyle J McCulloch (he/him) @kypodseyepods.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
I am looking for a postdoc! Please share with Evo-devo-neuro-sensory people who might be interested. We have multiple projects available so don't feel like you are not qualified to apply if you don't check every single box on the job ad! Apply here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
explore.jobs.ufl.edu
University of Florida - Details - Postdoctoral Associate
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Evgeny Kvon @evgenykvon.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Our paper describing the Range Extender element which is required and sufficient for long-range enhancer activation at the Shh locus is now available at @nature.com. Congrats to @gracebower.bsky.social who led the study. Below is a brief summary of the main findings www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/
nature.com
Range extender mediates long-distance enhancer activity - Nature
The REX element is associated with long-range enhancer–promoter interactions.
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Stephen F. Goodwin @stephenfgoodwin.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
New preprint from lab: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Sexual dimorphism arises not through wholesale transcriptional reprogramming, but via selective sex-specific survival of neurons defined by birth order and shared developmental programs.
biorxiv.org
A Role for Exaptation in Sculpting Sexually Dimorphic Brains from Shared Neural Lineages
Sex differences in behaviours arise from variations in female and male nervous systems, yet the cellular and molecular bases of these differences remain poorly defined. Here, we take an unbiased, sing...
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I am delighted to be starting as an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology at the University of Florida in January 2026. The lab is broadly interested in the functional, developmental, and evolutionary genetics of cell types and organs across flies and beyond 🪰🧬
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Nadav Shai @nadavshai.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
🦟 Join us at the #VosshallLab @RockefellerUniv and @HHMI as a postdoctoral scientist! We're seeking a creative individual who is enthusiastic about our research in mosquito neurogenetics. Apply: hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern... Some of our 2025 cool science>
hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
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Richard Merrill @dickmerrill.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Really excited that our DFG grant on the Speciation Genomics of Eye Size variation in *Heliconius* has been funded :) In the next weeks, I will post an advert for a PhD, but if you know of good students, please suggest they get in touch. Please repost.
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Andreas Prokop @poppi62.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
If using Bloomigton #Drosophila Stock Center stocks, pls. acknowledge them & their NIH funding (P40 OD018537). Papers listing this no. are being harvested as evidence. We massively depend on the @bdsc.bsky.social & they need our support in these dire times! @flybase.bsky.social @fly-eds.bsky.social
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Marcus Stensmyr @marcusstensmyr.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
We are looking for a PhD student! If you are interested in Drosophilids, systematics, bioinformatics, fiddling with museum specimens of old/weird flies, and chemosensation, then maybe this is for you! Please rebutterfly(?)! Apply below. lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
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Olivia Goldman PhD @oliviagoldman.net · 05/03/2025
I am thrilled to present the Mosquito Cell Atlas! We analyzed 367K nuclei from 19 tissues in male & female mosquitoes, creating a comprehensive resource for vector biology & infectious disease research. Plus we made some surprising discoveries! 🦟🧵 biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/n
Photos of Aedes aegypti female (left) and male (right). Numbers indicate location of collected tissues (listed in legend boxes). Photos by Alex Wild.
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Please consider submitting an abstract to our workshop at #Dros25! The deadline is Jan 15th.
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Arnaud Martin @evolvwing.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
New preprint by butterfly wizard @lucalivraghi.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We mapped optix (again?!) as the switch gene of a natural polymorphism, this time controlling silver patches of a mountain butterfly. Gorgeous RNAi validation, evidence of selective sweeps, introgression
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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Calling all fly biologists: submit your research for consideration in the “Everything you ever wanted to know about sex” workshop at #Dros25! We hope to highlight diverse science, researchers, and career stages. Email submission to rmgraze@auburn.edu by Wed, Jan 15.
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 10/11/2024
There are a lot of new people here, so I've set up a starter pack on Mating Systems, including sexual selection and conflict, sex differences and determination. Let me know if you want to be added! go.bsky.app/QXrYoQY
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Arnaud Martin @evolvwing.bsky.social · 23/01/2024
(thread) New butterfly Hox paper out doi.org/10.7554/eLif... I want to highlight the main part on Hox "insulation" How do butterflies forewings differ from hindwings in patterns and shape? Rare spontaneous mutants show patches of forewing transformed into hindwing identities? How is that possible?
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Molly Schumer @mollyschumer.bsky.social · 10/01/2024
So glad our paper on lethal hybrid incompatibilities is out at Nature today: rdcu.be/dvFcM ! @ben-moran.bsky.social moved mountains for this project: we identified two new incompatibilities in swordtail hybrids , characterize mechanisms of lethality, and their evolutionary history.
rdcu.be
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Stephen F. Goodwin @stephenfgoodwin.bsky.social · 16/12/2023
Applications are invited for two Leverhulme Trust-funded post-doctoral positions to join our lab in the Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour to study the neural circuits' underlying sexual behaviours.   Apply: tinyurl.com/552u5nfr   Please RT
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Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center @bdsc.bsky.social · 10/01/2024
We're really excited about these amazing new stocks and associated resources from Janelia! About 2,000 of the stocks are available today with the remainder working their way through our acquisition process. www.janelia.org/news/janelia...
janelia.org
Janelia shares ‘greatest hits’ of tools to study the fly brain
Janelia’s FlyLight Project Team, which has worked for more than a decade to create tools to study the fly brain, is making a core collection of their best genetically engineered fly strains availabl...
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