Dr. Scott Edwards, Professor, Harvard University, will give the Seventh Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Seminar in the Biocomplexity Institute Auditorium on Friday, January 19, 2018 at 12:20 pm. His talk is titled, “Genes or gene regulation? Understanding the evolutionary genetics of flightlessness in birds”.

Dr. Edwards is a distinguished scientist at Harvard University. He received his B.A. from Harvard, his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and his postdoctoral training at the University of Florida. Dr. Edwards’ research program uses interdisciplinary approaches that incorporate field, museum, and population genetic studies to understand the basis of avian diversity. He has published scientific articles in fields ranging from evolution, ecology, behavior, population genetics, and molecular genetics. In addition, he has written numerous articles for general audiences. His work has attracted major funding support from NSF throughout his career. Dr. Edwards has been very active in student mentoring and education, received numerous grants for student diversity, mentoring, and conference/workshop activities. Among his many awards in recognition of his scientific work and educational activities, he has been elected to the US National Academy of Sciences and named Fellow of both the American Association of Science and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Event Co-sponsors: Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science Diversity Committee, College of Natural Resources and Environment, Women and Minority Artists and Scholars Lecture Series, Global Change Center at Virginia Tech, Office of Inclusion and Diversity, VT Life Sciences Seminar, and Ecology/Evolution/Behavior Seminar.