In the Spotlight-Established Researcher.

Abstract

Tiana Kohlsdorf was selected among the 22 most prominent female Brazilian scientists under 40 years old in the 2014 Jovens Pesquisadoras Brasileiras CNPq award (http://www.cnpq.br/web/guest/jovens-pesquisadoras). Tiana is an Associate Editor of JEZ-B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. She is also Guest Co-Editor of this special issue on Regeneration. Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tiana_Kohlsdorf Lab website: https://sites.usp.br/kohlsdorflab/ With whom and where did you study? I did my Ph.D. at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) under the supervision of Dr. Carlos Navas, and developed research in Ecomorphology and Evolutionary Physiology focusing on Neotropical lizards (Tropiduridae). Then I moved to the United States for a postdoctoral at Yale University in the lab of Dr. Günter Wagner, where I worked on EvoDevo projects specially focused on the evolution of non-pentadactyl and limbless phenotypes. What got you interested in Biology? When did you know EvoDevo was for you? I have been always fascinated by animal diversity, and as a child, I really enjoyed to assemble all sorts of animal collections, from cicada molting skins to snail shells and bird feathers. After years defining “science” as my favorite subject at school, at high school I realized that “Biology” was actually my passion, so I enrolled in the Biology course at the University of Brasília (Brazil). As an undergraduate student, I identified Evolution as a major field of interest, and decided to continue my education as a graduate student at the University of São Paulo, studying the evolution of phenotypic patterns in Neotropical lizards. From this study, I developed a very integrative mind and learned concepts and methods to evaluate evolutionary associations between phenotypic patterns and environmental features. I became intrigued by questions related to the processes and mechanisms that actually originate such phenotypic patterns, and contacted Dr. Günter Wagner to apply for a postdoctoral position in his lab at Yale. My postdoctoral training was initially funded by a Brazilian fellowship awarded by CNPq and later continued under National Science Foundation funding. I was associated with Günter's lab from 2004 to 2006, and that experience really changed my perception about the evolution of biological systems, shaping for me a path of no return. After moving back to Brazil, I have established a lab that integrates classical approaches from Ecomorphology, Evolutionary Physiology, and Functional Morphology with EvoDevo questions and techniques to understand patterns and processes of phenotypic evolution in neotropical fauna. What is the biggest challenge you have encountered in your career? A major challenge in my career essentially derives from being too interdisciplinary. Although science clearly benefits from integration among concepts and methods developed by different fields, academic areas remain structured into classic categories that often lack flexibility. As a consequence, although in my lab we address evolutionary questions under interdisciplinary approaches, frequently part of the knowledge we generate is either praised by ecomorphologists or generates interest among geneticists. Effects of such “science compartmentalization” are particularly problematic when considering the way Biological Sciences are organized in most Brazilian funding agencies: It is very hard to adhere an EvoDevo project to either a “Zoology” or a “Genetics” committee, and “Evolutionary Biology” as a specific field is inexistent for most grant applications and career evaluation processes. Which achievement are you most proud of? I belong to a generation of Brazilian scientists that had to move abroad to receive training in EvoDevo, and my return to Brazil in 2006 coincided with the translation of “Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo and the Making of the Animal Kingdom” (by Sean Carroll) into Portuguese. During the 2–3 subsequent years, undergraduate students from several Biology courses spread across Brazil invited me to give talks entitled “What is EvoDevo,” inspired by EvoDevo books that were still not available in Portuguese and also based on my own experience in the field. Therefore, I had the opportunity to introduce the history and general premises of this field at public universities spread from the north to the south of Brazil. During my first decade hired as a Brazilian PI, other outstanding researchers trained in EvoDevo in Europe and the United States also returned to Brazil and established their own labs at different universities. These were very exciting years, as we integrated research, exchanged students, and organized several activities, including numerous symposia at Brazilian congresses in the fields of Genetics and Zoology. Among major achievements of such synergic interaction, I highlight the popularization of EvoDevo among Brazilian universities and the establishment of a first generation of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows educated in EvoDevo that were fully trained in Brazilian labs. The ongoing political process of defunding science and impairing public universities in Brazil may unfortunately defeat the recent expansion of EvoDevo in the country, especially by dismounting labs currently led by early-career scientists.