Seminar by Nina Wedell on selfish genetic elements and sexual selection and PhD-thesis defency by Kristina Karlsson

This week our department will be visited by Professor Nina Wedell (Exeter University, UK), who will act as an external faculty opponent on the thesis of Kristina Karlsson Green, on Friday November 26 (09.30, "Blue Hall", Ecology Building).


Nina Wedell is well-known for her research on sperm competition, sexual selection and mating system evolution in insects. You can read more about her research here, and here you can find some of her publications. Here is an article about Ninas recent research on the evolutionary consequences and benefits of female promiscuity.


Nina Wedell will arrive to our department already on Thursday (November 25), and will present a research seminar at 14.00 entitled: 


"Selfish genetic elements and sexual selection"


This talk is co-arranged with The Research School in Genomic Ecology (GENECO), and there will also be another talk by Sören Molin the same afternoon and the same place (Lecture Hall, Biology Building, Sölvegatan 35 A), but at 15.15. Note that both these talks do not take place in the "Blue Hall", but in a separate building ("The Biology Building").

New thesis from the lab by Kristina Karlsson, nailing and next lab-meeting

Probably, the proudest moment in the life of PhD-student advisors is when their students has finished his/her thesis. This has now happened once again in our lab, and I am of course extremely happy that my fourth PhD-student Kristina Karlsson has now gotten her PhD-thesis back from the printer. Before Tina, Jessica Abbott (2006), Tom Gosden (2008) and Fabrice Eroukhmanoff (2009) has previously succesfully finished their theses, and I am of course happy to soon be able to kall Tina Dr. Karlsson.

The second proudest moment in the life of the PhD-student advisors is usually the thesis defence. This will take place on Friday November 26 2010 in the "Blue Hall" (Ecology Building). The external opponent on Tinas thesis will be Professor Nina Wedell (Exeter University, UK), and the thesis defence will start at 09.30.

Prof. Wedell will also give an invited research seminar the day before Tinas thesis dissertation (November 25) with the title: "Sexual selection and selfish genetic elements". This talk will take place in the "Red Room" (Ecology Building) at 14.00 on November 25 2010. Needless to say, both Prof. Wedell's talk on November 25 as well as the dissertation ceremony on November 26 are open to the general public and everybody who is interested.

Tina will "nail" her thesis on the "Oak" outside the Biology Library next Wednesday (November 10, 2010) at 15.00. Drinks will be served after this ceremony, and again, it is open to anyone who wish to attend. The same day, our regular lab-meeting will take place as usual (10.15-12.00 in "Darwin"). Anna Runemark will send out a manuscript of ours about sexual selection in mainland and island populations, with the hope to get some input and criticisms. If you do not receive this manuscript, please send Anna an e-mail and she can send you a copy (anna.runemark@zooekol.lu.se). Fika volunteers are particularly welcome to this meeting.