The JBJC Spring Symposium is a one-day virtual symposium on a specific topic in comparative or evolutionary neurobiology, organized by one or more members of the J. B. Johnston Club and sponsored by S. Karger AG. This one day virtual symposium is held annually in early - mid May. To submit a proposal topic, please email the Chair of the Program Committee, Andrew Iwanuik ([email protected]). We look forward to bringing you an interesting and inspiring day of science.
The 2024 spring virtual symposium will be held on the 3rd May 2024 and is entitled: Phylogenetic comparative methods to study the evolution of the brain. The symposium is organized by Andrew Iwaniuk (University of Lethbridge). To purchase tickets for the symposium please visit the following link. All proceeds from this meeting go towards supporting our Student Carneiro Fund.
Schedule for the 2024 Spring Virtual Symposium
All times are Eastern US Time
Start time: 12:00pm (NYC); 11:00am (Chicago); 9am (LA)
11:55 Introduction and Welcome Andrew Iwaniuk (University of Lethbridge). The primary goal of my research program is to demonstrate and understand how brain and behaviour evolve in concert with one another. To address this question, my lab draws upon neuroscience, animal behaviour and evolutionary biology techniques to conduct both intraspecific and comparative studies. My trainees and I combine fieldwork, behavioural analyses, phylogeny-based and multivariate statistics, stereology, multiple histological and microscopy techniques to examine the relationship between brain and behaviour in birds and mammals.
link
12:00-13:00 Ferran Sayol Altarriba (CREAF, Spain): Environmental variation and the evolution of brain size in birds. I am a La Caixa Junior Leader researcher at CREAF, in Barcelona. My research aims to understand how biodiversity is originated and organized, and how it can be lost by anthropogenic impacts. Most of my research is focused on animals (mainly birds and mammals), combining different approaches including measurements at Natural History collections, compilation of global datasets from the literature, phylogenetic comparative analysis and camera-trap surveys from citizen science initiatives. link
13:00-14:00 Masahito Tsuboi (Lund University, Sweden): Allometric constraints, evolvability, and encephalization across vertebrates. I am an evolutionary biologist interested in the role of constraints in macroevolution. Most of my study has focused on multivariate constraints on morphological traits, such as brain size across jawed-vertebrates, antler size of extant/extinct deers or wing shape of drosophila flies, asking if and how trait covariances shape phenotypic diversity across the tree of life. I use modern phenomic tools (geometric morphometrics, photogrammetry etc.) and phylogenetic comparative method to study these questions, and have a growing interest in integrating quantitative/population genetic theories and tools into macroevolutionary framework. link
14:00-15:00 Jeroen Smears (Stony Brook University, USA): Revealing the macroevolutionary patterns that underpin extant diversity in the study of brain evolution. My research is dedicated to the macroevolutionary study of the brain. My lab investigates comparative differences in neural structure, and draws information from recent advances in molecular phylogenetic inference to estimate how traits have changed across millions of years of evolution. The primary objective is to elucidate the evolutionary pathways that underlie present-day variation, and investigate how neuroanatomical changes in deep time relate to diversity, adaptation and function.link
15:00-16:00 Alejandro Gonzalez Voyer (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico): Disentangling direct from indirect relationships in brain evolution. I am an evolutionary biologist interested in macroevolution. My research is mostly question driven rather than focused on any specific model system. I am interested in how phenotypic traits evolve, how species richness accumulates, the factors that drive diversification and the mechanistic explanations for the geographical species gradient. To tackle these questions I mostly use phylogenetic comparative methods, and have also contributed to the development of these methods. I am active in teaching theoretical-practical workshops on the theory and use of phylogenetic comparative methods. To date I have taught workshops in Estonia, Sweden, Spain, Cuba, Chile, Mexico and China.link
16:00 End of Symposium
Previous Spring Virtual Symposiums:
The 2024 spring virtual symposium will be held on the 3rd May 2024 and is entitled: Phylogenetic comparative methods to study the evolution of the brain. The symposium is organized by Andrew Iwaniuk (University of Lethbridge). To purchase tickets for the symposium please visit the following link. All proceeds from this meeting go towards supporting our Student Carneiro Fund.
Schedule for the 2024 Spring Virtual Symposium
All times are Eastern US Time
Start time: 12:00pm (NYC); 11:00am (Chicago); 9am (LA)
11:55 Introduction and Welcome Andrew Iwaniuk (University of Lethbridge). The primary goal of my research program is to demonstrate and understand how brain and behaviour evolve in concert with one another. To address this question, my lab draws upon neuroscience, animal behaviour and evolutionary biology techniques to conduct both intraspecific and comparative studies. My trainees and I combine fieldwork, behavioural analyses, phylogeny-based and multivariate statistics, stereology, multiple histological and microscopy techniques to examine the relationship between brain and behaviour in birds and mammals.
link
12:00-13:00 Ferran Sayol Altarriba (CREAF, Spain): Environmental variation and the evolution of brain size in birds. I am a La Caixa Junior Leader researcher at CREAF, in Barcelona. My research aims to understand how biodiversity is originated and organized, and how it can be lost by anthropogenic impacts. Most of my research is focused on animals (mainly birds and mammals), combining different approaches including measurements at Natural History collections, compilation of global datasets from the literature, phylogenetic comparative analysis and camera-trap surveys from citizen science initiatives. link
13:00-14:00 Masahito Tsuboi (Lund University, Sweden): Allometric constraints, evolvability, and encephalization across vertebrates. I am an evolutionary biologist interested in the role of constraints in macroevolution. Most of my study has focused on multivariate constraints on morphological traits, such as brain size across jawed-vertebrates, antler size of extant/extinct deers or wing shape of drosophila flies, asking if and how trait covariances shape phenotypic diversity across the tree of life. I use modern phenomic tools (geometric morphometrics, photogrammetry etc.) and phylogenetic comparative method to study these questions, and have a growing interest in integrating quantitative/population genetic theories and tools into macroevolutionary framework. link
14:00-15:00 Jeroen Smears (Stony Brook University, USA): Revealing the macroevolutionary patterns that underpin extant diversity in the study of brain evolution. My research is dedicated to the macroevolutionary study of the brain. My lab investigates comparative differences in neural structure, and draws information from recent advances in molecular phylogenetic inference to estimate how traits have changed across millions of years of evolution. The primary objective is to elucidate the evolutionary pathways that underlie present-day variation, and investigate how neuroanatomical changes in deep time relate to diversity, adaptation and function.link
15:00-16:00 Alejandro Gonzalez Voyer (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico): Disentangling direct from indirect relationships in brain evolution. I am an evolutionary biologist interested in macroevolution. My research is mostly question driven rather than focused on any specific model system. I am interested in how phenotypic traits evolve, how species richness accumulates, the factors that drive diversification and the mechanistic explanations for the geographical species gradient. To tackle these questions I mostly use phylogenetic comparative methods, and have also contributed to the development of these methods. I am active in teaching theoretical-practical workshops on the theory and use of phylogenetic comparative methods. To date I have taught workshops in Estonia, Sweden, Spain, Cuba, Chile, Mexico and China.link
16:00 End of Symposium
Previous Spring Virtual Symposiums:
- 2024 Spring Symposium: Phylogenetic comparative methods to study the evolution of the brain. This virtual symposium was organized by Andrew Iwaniuk.
- 2023 Spring Symposium: Stress response in the vertebrate forebrain. This virtual symposium was organized by Tom Smulders.
- 2022 Spring Symposium: Evolving intersecting neural circuits: sensory modalities, postures, movements, expressions, emotions. This virtual symposium was organized by Darcy B. Kelley.
- 2021 Spring Symposium: Peace through herpetofauna: A tribute to Walt Wilczynski. This virtual symposium was organized by Kathleen Lynch and Blinda McClelland