Beth Shapiro

Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, USA
January 12 - 8:00 AM
Town & Country Ballroom
Talk Title: “The evolutionary consequences of interspecies hybridization: insights from ancient and modern bear genomes”

* Updated Dec-18. Please note that there has been a change to the previously published schedule.

Beth Shapiro is an evolutionary biologist who specializes in the genetics of ice age animals and plants. A pioneer in the young field called “ancient DNA,” Beth travels extensively in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Siberia and Canada collecting bones and other remains of long-dead creatures including mammoths, giant bears, and extinct camels and horses. Using DNA sequences extracted from these remains, she hopes to better understand how the distribution and abundance of species changed in response to major climate changes in the past, and why some species go extinct while others persist.

The results could be used to help develop strategies for the conservation of species that are under threat from climate change today. Currently an Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz, Beth has been widely honored for her research, including being named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, Searle Scholar, Packard Fellow and MacArthur Fellow. Her upcoming book, “How to Clone a Mammoth,” is expected in Spring 2015.  (photo credit: kk)