| 1 | Name: | Dr. Hopi E. Hoekstra | |
| Institution: | Harvard University; Howard Hughes Medical Institute | ||
| Year Elected: | 2018 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 203. Evolution & Ecology, Systematics, Population Genetics, Paleontology, and Physical Anthropology | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1972 | ||
Hopi E. Hoekstra is the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the Departments of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology and the Molecular & Cellular Biology at Harvard University. She is the Curator of Mammals in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, an Institute Member at the Broad Institute and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her research focuses on understanding the evolution and genetics of morphological and behavioral traits that affect fitness of individuals in the wild. Using deer mice as a model system, she first dissected the molecular, genetic and developmental basis of camouflaging coloration to understand the mechanisms driving adaptation. Later, she focused on unraveling the genetic and neurobiological underpinnings of complex natural behaviors. She received her B.A. from UC Berkeley and her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. She has received Young Investigator awards from the American Society of Naturalists and the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, and most recently, the Lounsbery Medal from the National Academy of Sciences (2015). She gave the 2013 Commencement speech at UC Berkeley’s Integrative Biology Department and has been profiled in The New York Times. In 2016, she was elected into the National Academy of Sciences and in 2017, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She also teaches in Harvard’s introductory Life Science course Genetics, Genomics and Evolution to approximately 500 freshmen each year, and has been awarded the Fannie Cox Prize and a Harvard College Professorship for teaching excellence. | |||