I am looking for PhD students and postdocs to join my lab at the University of Pittsburgh in Fall 2027. Anyone excited about urban evolution, hummingbirds, & community engagement, please reach out! And/or find me at #AOS2026 this week! More info here: www.valentina-alaasam.com

Excited to share our new review in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com, coauthored w/allstar postdocs @vale-alaasam.bsky.social @annainthefield.bsky.social @anthonysnead.bsky.social Bridging island biogeography & evolutionary processes, we explore how eco-evo dynamics play out in the urban mosaic rdcu.be/e4tcj

Eco-evolutionary dynamics shaping biodiversity in the urban mosaic

Nature Reviews Biodiversity - The urban mosaic is a complex assimilation of habitats, biotic and abiotic factors with eco-evolutionary influence on local and regional biodiversity. In this Review,...

rdcu.be

New paper out in @funecology.bsky.social: Parental conflict over care is bad for offspring growth! 🐤🐣 Check out our article: Mate desertion affects offspring survival, development and physiology in a songbird with multiple parental strategies. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Mate desertion affects offspring survival, development and physiology in a songbird with multiple parental strategies

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

👀Behind the Paper!👀 🪺Author Valentina Alaasam discusses single parenting in the avian world, enjoying all the outdoors has to offer, and the importance of not fearing failure🐦 Read it here👇 buff.ly/EjX8SQO 🧪🌍

Valentina Alaasam | What is the “hidden cost” of abandonment to rock sparrow offspring?

In this ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, we’re getting real about parenthood! From their recently published paper: “Mate desertion affects offspring survival, development and p…

buff.ly

The coolest thing I’ve seen today is that a bunch of volunteer public health professionals and developers have restored the CDC website from before January 20th 2025. This differs from an archive in that they want to rebuild the links between pages and replicate the full website.

Happy 20th anniversary BirdNote! I am so proud to be part of this amazing program 😁 www.birdnote.org/podcasts/bir...

BirdNote Celebrates 20 Years | BirdNote

Happy 20th Birthday to BirdNote!

birdnote.org

"There's nothing political about wanting students to learn. That's not social justice. That is simply giving all students an opportunity to get a good grade and be able to succeed in their future career." www.npr.org/2025/02/13/n...

Sen. Ted Cruz's list of 'woke' science includes self-driving cars and solar eclipses

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, says the National Science Foundation has given money to thousands of "woke DEI" studies. Researchers say that's misrepresenting science and disparaging important research.

npr.org

Universities and Institutions have to push back NOW. When they threaten one group of scientific institutions, if we are silent, we will be next. HHMI and the other potential targets need to work with red state Unis to stall this illegal targeting in courts. www.science.org/content/arti...

HHMI kills program aimed at boosting inclusivity in STEM education

“Inclusive excellence” program had committed $60 million to 104 institutions

science.org

#SuperbOwl in the form of a screech owl. Taken during 2017 @tasteofscience.bsky.social event in Tampa.

I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service. “Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.

White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion

The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

washingtonpost.com

AOC: Trans girls are girls. And for all the folks that are so concerned, thank you for your concern for women for the first time. I don't know who has been to gym class, I’ve played co-ed sports all the time

#ProudPI moment: postdocs @vale-alaasam.bsky.social & Anthony Snead co-organized an amazing #SICB2025 symposium & PhD students Fallon Meng crushed her first conference talk!

Have you ever thought about the perks of doing fieldwork in your own backyard? ...Are you "urban-ecology-curious"? Come to our workshop at #SICB2025 on Jan 4 10:30-12:00 to learn about urban field safety, accessibility, engaging undergrads, designing experiments, permit perils, and more!