Junior Fellow Wendy Valencia Montoya wins Dobzhansky Prize

Current Junior Fellow Wendy Valencia Montoya was awarded the Dobzhansky Prize, which is awarded annually by the Society for the Study of Evolution to recognize the accomplishments and future promise of an outstanding early-career evolutionary biologist. Valencia Montoya's current research program investigates the molecular basis of specialized species interactions, such as how signals and senses evolve to enable communication between organisms, as well as the molecular pathways that confer resistance in species that have adapted to feed on highly neurotoxic plants. This work brings together evolutionary biology, sensory physiology, and comparative genomics to understand how organisms adapt to rapidly changing environments and how sensory innovations arise.

The Dobzhansky Prize is awarded annually by the Society for the Study of Evolution to recognize the accomplishments and future promise of an outstanding early-career evolutionary biologist. The prize was established in memory of Professor Theodosius Dobzhansky by his friends and colleagues, and reflects his lifelong commitment to fostering the research careers of young scientists.