Noah Whiteman
@NKWhiteman
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Evolution Prof. @berkeleyMCB | NIH T32 Genetic Dissection of Cells & Organisms Training Program Director | Essig Museum Director | G3 Sen. Ed. | Author | 🏳️🌈
Oakland, CA
Joined September 2010
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Pinned Tweet
I will be on
@scifri
this afternoon to talk about my new book! It will air live today at 2:40 ET on your local station or go here during show time and there will be a "listen live" banner at the top: . They also published an excerpt:
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To all those prospective graduate students rejected from their dream programs, or every program, this story is for you:
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I showed the tree of life in a talk to
@UCBerkeley
alumni today. I asked them close their eyes and come to understand that they are the product on an unbroken chain of cell divisions that started 4 billion years ago! So much extinction and so lucky to be here.
#Homecoming2018
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Happy
#InternationalCoffeeDay
! Do you love coffee? Did you know that its health effects are influenced by how you make it? Want to know why I gave up French Press? The two chemicals to the left (by
@jehimes
) are the most potent "bad" LDL cholesterol-inducing in our diets...👇1.
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Happy “Full Professor” Eve
@UCBerkeley
! It is my last day as an Associate Professor. An auspicious way to end to
#Pride2021
— tomorrow I will be one of the few queer Full Professors here or anywhere (especially in
#STEM
)…
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Effective July 1, 2021, yours truly will be promoted to Full Professor! Thanks to
@TheWhitemanLab
, present and past, for helping make this happen, all of my mentors for their support, and external reviewers. I’m the first out
#LGBTQIA
Full Professor in my Department
@UCBerkeley
!
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Why are alcohol and opioids addictive, but not psilocybin or menthol? Why do fungi and plants make such chemicals in the first place? Why are many plants toxic to cats? Why did a Mexican yam lead to "The Pill"? Why did the Spice Trade hasten the Opioid Crisis? For answers...👇
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Sexual vs natural selection
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Here is my view, after almost quitting the PhD program in 1st semester 18 years ago, having just come out and having left my first advisor’s lab...then almost quitting again in 3rd year after the 5th journal rejection, won writing contest & used $ to pay for lsat class, secretly.
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A green island on a striped maple leaf. Those little specks are of an ascomycete fungus called Rhytisma acerinum, which will wait until spring to shoot it’s spores into the air, infecting new leaves. The fungus manipulates plant signaling to suppress senescence of chloroplasts.
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In this dark time, some wonderful news has brightened my day! I am deeply honored to have been awarded a 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship.
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I’ve removed my profile and account from ResearchGate
We are pleased to announce our new partnership with
@MDPIOpenAccess
that will see 10 of MDPI’s journals benefit from an enhanced presence on ResearchGate through our innovative Journal Home offering.
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Why do I only make filtered coffee now? These two terpenoids in coffee beans (cafestol and kahweol) are the most potent LDL cholesterol-raising chemicals in our diet and are removed by paper (auto-drip or pour over) or gold mesh (auto-drip only) filters. Curious to learn more? 👇
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As a faculty member at UC-Berkeley, a place I was not accepted as a graduate student, I can say to all of those who feel as I did: keep moving forward. Persist. Trust your gut. You will make mistakes. Strategic ones. Find allies. Stick with them.
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#PhD
students: remember that your PhD is a stepping stone in your career, wherever that takes you. Hopefully it isn’t your magnum opus! Three chapters, three papers, and then onto the next thing.
#dontoverthinkit
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Good morning y’all. This is another red eft, the terrestrial, juvenile stage of the eastern newt with which I’m currently obsessed. It is rouge/orange to advertise the tetrodotoxin (yes, same as in fugu) in its skin.
#effed
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UC-Berkeley Principal Investigators: Central campus leadership has been really proactive regarding how we might help Bay Area efforts to screen for covid-19. I have the green light to inventory campus qPCR machines that we may be able to lend to a fully-approved testing facility
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Believe in yourself. It’s hard to sometimes. Phobias are real. Confront them when you are ready. But do confront them. You can find a place where you will thrive. You do belong here. Thanks for letting me share my story.
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My book MOST DELICIOUS POISON
@lbsparkbooks
will be out in Oct '23! I explore where many chemicals we use come from and how the contours of my life and the last 500 years of history were shaped by an insatiable desire for nature's toxins. Pre-order here:
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The GRE general and biology subject test are no longer required for graduate admissions in Integrative Biology effective immediately
@IBatBerkeley
@UCBerkeley
#grexit
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Good thing I checked the mail! I dedicate this
@RoyEntSoc
Fellowship to all
#LGBTQIA
entomologists bravely pursuing their passion, in a world where many still fear for their lives and livelihoods. From one queen to another 😉, Her Majesty The Queen,
@RoyalFamily
, thank you!
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Now that’s a species interaction. Watch the whole thing!
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If you haven't read this paper, please consider doing so. It is quite damning: "Factors that prevent talented and motivated LGBTQ individuals from succeeding in STEM, or even staying in STEM at all, are of scholarly, economic, and national concern."
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Straight/cis people consider reaching out to your LGBTQIA 🏳️🌈 friends, colleagues and mentees today. It’s a big day for us. Imagine if today was the day you knew you could not be fired just for being straight or cis. Living in fear is omnipresent for Queer people, but this helps.
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Here you go (cringe). Note that I’d rather be looking through a microscope than talking about my personal history. But I’m doing it for
#lgbtq
and
#stem
students.
Podcast: A biology prof on growing up gay in rural Minnesota via
@UCBerkeley
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It’s taken millions of years for
#monarchbutterflies
to evolve, but the journey of our paper () has been a once in a lifetime one! Led by
@k_annairam
@simoncgroen
@jn_pelaez
et al.
See
@carlzimmer
story here:
💉🔬(dna)🥚🐛🦋❤️
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I'm humbled and excited to have been elected a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences
@calacademy
! Also, they are opening very soon in a de-densified way.
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I turned 45! Yowza. Thanks mom,
@layne_whiteman
for bringing me into this beautiful world. 🙏 to all y’all, especially my lab
@TheWhitemanLab
and my
#queerinstem
peeps, for keeping me inspired. P.S. Is that a green screen behind us? You decide.
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Did you know
@CAgovernor
that the
@UCBerkeley
campus has numerous research buildings with faculty (doing research supported by hundreds of millions in federal $) who can’t plug their freezers (holding precious samples) into backup power outlets because their are none?
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Toasting all my lgbtqa+ people 🌈 and especially the students, postdocs and assistant professors deciding if and how to be your full selves. You can. But it is your journey and you get to define it. I came out 19 years ago! I was scared. I’m not anymore.
#NationalComingOutDay
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I have exciting news! As of July 1, I have joined my colleagues in
@berkeleyMCB
as joint (50%) faculty in the Genetics, Genomics and Development Division (remaining 50% in
@berkeleyIB
). I’ve also been appointed faculty in the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute
@UCBerkeleyNeuro
.
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What a nice surprise to share with my intro to evolution students today. Congratulations to Svante! Also, he is openly bisexual, as revealed in his memoir. This is a great day for Svante, for the field of evolution, and for 🏳️🌈 awareness and rights!
BREAKING NEWS:
The 2022
#NobelPrize
in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Svante Pääbo “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.”
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Here is some
#LGBTQScience
real talk: I am a gay evolutionary biologist studying the evolution of species interactions and Associate Professor
@UCBerkeley
@berkeleyIB
. I would like to emphasize how inspiring all of the junior
#lgbtqa
#ostem
people are to moi. Thanks. 💙💚💛🧡❤️
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Please make your heat maps using grayscale and never ever use red and black or red and green on a figure together. Don’t trust those color-blind “friendly” websites. They don’t work that well and keep it grayscale simple. Thanks, your colorblind reviewer.
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My heart goes out to parents with kids at home who are also working at home. I'm sure precious memories are being formed, but it must be very hard.
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Delighted to share that on July 1, I'll be Faculty Director of the Essig Museum of Entomology (>5 million specimens strong)
@BerkeleyMuseums
. Big shoes to fill: Prof. Rosie Gillespie is my predecessor. Excited to carry the torch for insects
@Cal
with Exec. Director Pete Oboyski.
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Did you know that the Declaration of Independence & Magna Carta were written with ink made from oak galls (oak apples)? The galls are growths made by the oak in response to being envenomated by oak gall wasps (Cynipidae) whose larvae live in the halls! The plant makes tannins…1
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Happy
#LGBTQSTEMDay
! Here I am as a 25 year old. I had amebic dysentery from Entamoeba histolytica (had lost 20 pounds), holding one of ca. 50 Galapagos hawks I sampled that year. These weren’t the only challenges. Like many, I feared being outed in the field. Stay strong!
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Yes, you have closeted colleagues. Why are they afraid to come out? Think about this during
#lgbtqia
pride month please. What could *you* do to make it a more supportive department? It’s not about them not having the courage, it is about safety.
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Message to junior academics and esp. minorities: just apply. All fellowships, grants and faculty positions I’ve had were ones for which I *almost* didn’t apply because I didn’t think I’d be competitive. I was wrong sometimes!
#impostersyndrome
#LGBTQSTEM
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Happy Pride to all, but especially those LBGTQIA2S+ people in academic STEM, where it can be so demoralizing. Cultivate your creativity and passion—yours is the road less traveled. Express these gifts in your work and channel it for good. Stay strong! You are enough. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️❤️☮️🕊️
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It’s my 46th birthday today! Grateful for my mother, who brought me into this wonderful world. That’s Puget Sound behind me! xxoo
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Happy
#LGBTQSTEMDay
! I’m a gay faculty member
@UCBerkeley
in evolution. The amazing research group I get to lead studies the evolution species interactions—mostly antagonistic some mutualistic. I am as passionate about equity and inclusion as I am about evolution.
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This place they ended up for their PhD was University of Missouri-St. Louis and that student was me.
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In case you didn’t know (many straight people do not appreciate this), I, being O negative, the universal donor, cannot donate blood in the US because I am gay.
@Andy
did a good thing by raising this.
Coronavirus survivor
@Andy
demands end to anti-gay law so he can donate blood and help save lives:
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Our R35 (MIRA) grant was renewed for another five years (Early to Established Investigator)! I am grateful to members of
@TheWhitemanLab
, past and present, whose creativity, hard work, and persistence made it happen. 2020 was a tough year to submit the renewal...thanks
@NIGMS
!
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Yeah didn't think "crying in office" was on the books today...didn't see that in my schedule.
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This was originally purchased by Prof Carlos Machado at Arizona (probably on 2005), which my lab inherited in 2010. Then, I bought and brought to Cal in 2016. Now, the time has come to finally say goodbye to this MJ Research thermocycler!
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Omg
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And the late Professor Gary Krause, Dept of Statistics at Mizzou is the one who locked eyes with me and said “you are going to learn to love statistics as much as I do.” Lol! He was so right. It was like a bridge to a new world.
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Calling all *non*-LGBTQIA+ scientists. Please lean into this, from Harvey Milk: “All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.” Speak out when homophobia/transphobia shows up.
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I want to have a class that is just this: "Nature walks with Noah." Who is game?
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Will
@UCBerkeley
@UCSF
and
@Stanford
coordinate with govt leaders to engage genetics and genomics labs *now* before it *really* hits Bay Area? I have three PCR machines. We do PCR every day. I would like to help but to whom do we turn? Is BSL2 required?
To date,
@UWVirology
has performed approximately 400 tests for
#COVID
ー19. We are seeing a consistent positivity rate of 5-7% among specimens submitted to the lab. We are able to meet all current testing demands with capacity for over 1,000 tests per day.
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My plant taxonomy Professor from 1996 just sent a letter to me to say hello and he included an old photo he found in his office of me! Note the pile of winter clothes. He was a good professor, made us learn a lot of key characters and we had to do key downs all the time.
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Do you drink French Press coffee or love somebody who does? The two chemicals to the left are in all coffee beans and present at high levels in unfiltered coffee like French Press brew. They are the most potent LDL cholesterol-inducing chemicals in our diet...for more👇
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And the person who got me through
#stoichiometry
and believed in my potential as a scientist is my friend
@petemathison
from Fargo, a wonderful human being.
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A 96 year-old woman from Florida wrote just now and attached a photo of a monarch chrysalis outside her house. She says “I hope you got my letter thanking you for your article which brought back the magic.” 😭
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Sending in 70ish letters of recommendation for undergrads applying to grad school this weekend. It is such an honor to write on their behalf. The world truly is in good hands.
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#HappyNationalComingOutDay
to all, and a special thank you to the more junior
#LGBTQIA
+ scientists who inspire me everyday to keep being myself despite the homophobia that permeates. We shall overcome. Don’t forget to
#VOTE
!
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It’s happening! The final hardcover version of my new nonfiction book MOST DELICIOUS POISON is hot off the presses from
@lbsparkbooks
. Such a wonderful feeling to hold it in my hands! You can preorder your own copy now (pub date is October 24th):
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I’m 47 years old today. Thanks mom
@layne_whiteman
! Still hugging trees after all these years. This one is a young coast redwood I ran past. Grateful for another year on this beautiful planet.
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Then, they got accepted to University of Missouri-Columbia for a M.S. in entomology where they thrived, got over their math phobia and got As in statistics courses, thanks to a caring advisor who saw the potential of this student.
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I have to say, helping my 12 year old nephew do cross products last week just about made me cry. He’s getting an A in math right now!
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Look who I saved on the sidewalk today! A future or current Queen bumblebee. She seemed out of it.
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I appreciate this
@benchling
given that it is
#Pride
month. I’m a proud gay biologist. But I’m also a white cis man, and although I experienced terrifying homophobia that makes my eyes well with tears every time I think about it, I had the privilege of deciding to come out...
The next scientist in our
#Pride
series: Dr. Noah
@NKWhiteman
is an Associate Professor at
@UCBerkeley
(
@berkeleyIB
). His group studies the molecular basis of adaptations arising from the ancient arms race between toxic plants and the animals and microbes that attack them.
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In this month of
#Pride2021
I want to thank the community of courageous, junior
#lgbtqia
+ scientists on here. Your courage, humor and support keep me going. Change in
#STEM
is slow, but you are making it happen. Keep on being unabashedly you!
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New
#glamshot
by
@UCBerkeley
photographer Elena Zhukova in the Essig Museum of Entomology, the largest collection (>5 million) within the
@BerkeleyMuseums
. These specimens are veritable time machines that future generations will use to answer questions we can’t even imagine.
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But it was hard. I remember walking across Harvard Yard wishing my grandparents were alive to know that I was a researcher there.
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I encourage *all* academics to examine this, esp. faculty. Go to the link. A couple of take-always. We know “elite” graduate programs (universities) contribute a staggering % of faculty to other universities. This analysis really breaks it down. Prestige defined quantitatively.
Slides from my seminar "Faculty hiring and changing representation in academia," today at Berkeley CTEG, connecting work with
@alliecmorgan
@samfway
@laberge_nick
@arbesman
Mirta Galesic &
@DanLarremore
to questions of equity in academia
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When I was a PhD student at University of Missouri-Saint Louis in tropical biology doing field work in Ecuador and Argentina, I was allowed and encouraged to take a class in political science to shore up how politics intersected with conservation biology in Latin America. 1/
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Then, the paper got into a journal, and I clawed my way back to a more positive outlook...not many people know these things about me but maybe they should. These are just a few of the types of truths you don’t see on a CV. I wrote about it all last night and wanted to share.
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And there is no getting around it. I was completely devastated about the rejections. My mother and friends in college were the ones to remind me that I was more than the sum of them. And then, Bob Sites, my wonderful M.S. mentor, took me under his wing.
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I just cancelled my mom’s surprise 70th birthday party. The whole family was going. We are very sad. She said, as we cried together on the phone, that she was feeling “euphoric” we had planned it! A little gift covid-19 can’t take away. 😞
#SocialDistancing
#COVID19
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Nectar + patience = friendly fly-by
#superbloom
#superbloom2019
#hawkmoth
#pollinators
#slomo
#California
#longsip
#saddlebags
#ispy
#straw
#AnzaBorrego
@TheEllenShow
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Although *many* are supportive of the nascent inclusivity movement in academia, I hear the pernicious “we must emphasize that the scientific excellence has to come first” in an attempt to clip its wings. Deliberative inclusivity and excellence don’t tradeoff.
#stem
#inclusion
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I lost my dad, the best naturalist I knew, in December. He was so proud that the son of a salesman could become a professor. I told him on Thanksgiving how grateful I was for his love and brilliance. I didn’t know it would be our last chat. Here he is, admiring a sunfish. ❤️🙏
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I’m honored to be a new Director on the Board of the Genetics Society of America
@GeneticsGSA
with these fabulous colleagues! It’s a wonderful scientific society. I’ll do my best to represent the diverse voices in our field and continue to broaden participation in it.
Congratulations and welcome to 2021 Vice President
@Worm_Diva
and new members of the Board of Directors
@big_data_kane
@DunhamLab
Folami Ideraabdullah and
@NKWhiteman
!
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I am deep in a forest, don’t know if this will transmit:
@Jess_M_Agui
was just recommended to receive an HHMI Gilliam Fellowship! In awe! Congratulations! As her Gilliam mentor, Jess and I are looking forward to using this opportunity to help dismantle systemic racism in biology!
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If you've never read the joint Darwin-Wallace papers that preceded the The Origin of Species and The Malay Archipelago, you should. We discussed them in the Evolution class today. Wallace's personal annotated copy is here and the end note is remarkable:
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It’s not perfect, but I ended up in my promised land. 24 years ago, I escaped a place where bullies carved swastikas and the word fag onto my lockers and screamed it in my face thousands of times. I made it to my promised land! Be strong young ones.
#pridemonth
❤️🧡💛💚💜
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I love this
The moment you realize you finally get a parking spot
@UCBerkeley
. 🌟
Congratulations Professor Doudna!
@NobelPrize
#CRISPR
#GoBears
!
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I’m teaching Evolution in Fall 2019! From the Big Bang, Origin of Life and the Cell, The Great Dying, The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs and Human Origins, revealed by geology, paleontology, evolutionary theory, genomics and molecular biology.
@berkeleyIB
@UCBerkeley
@ESPM_Berkeley
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My mom just got her first dose of the vaccine! She is over 70 and has to work in people's homes as part of her job.
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I will get back to work now but I have too many young
#LGBTQIA
students asking me what it is like to be out in STEM and academia. I want to be able to tell them a different story. There have been small wins but these were mostly imposed on academia and STEM by the law.
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To all of my
#LGBTQIAfamily
: I am happy to report that a new pride flag is en route and will again be flown out of my window at VLSB
@UCBerkeley
! I appreciate the nudge. The old battered one was retired during the wildfires...it will be flying from the south side of VLSB...
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Like my new shirt? I personally strongly support the right of UC graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and other professional researchers to strike for better pay and benefits.
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