Congratulations to Nicholas Levis for the 2021 Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award in Biological and Life Sciences! Nicholas’ dissertation focuses on plasticity-led evolution in nature and his advisor was Professor David Pfennig. From the website: “Where do new traits come from? Diverse evidence from spadefoot toads supports the controversial hypothesis that environmentally induced changes to development – phenotypic plasticity – can lead to the evolution of new features. More generally, this work provides critical information to inform ongoing debates around the origins of novelty, diversity and adaptation.”
Read more about Nicholas and the other 2021 Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award winners here.