Antonis Rokas
Life in evolution’s fast lane
May. 21, 2019—A group of budding yeasts in the genus Hanseniaspora, which is closely related to the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has lost large numbers of genes related to cell cycle and DNA repair processes.
Rokas elected to American Academy of Microbiology
Feb. 6, 2019—Antonis Rokas, who holds the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He was among the 109 new fellows welcomed by the academy in 2019.
Today’s budding yeasts shed traits from their 400-million-year-old ancestor
Nov. 8, 2018—Evolutionary biologists decoded the genomes of nearly a third of known budding yeast species, allowing them to reconstruct an ancient parent’s metabolic characteristics.
New committee advances research through limited submission opportunities
Aug. 16, 2018—Twenty faculty members have been appointed to the new Limited Submission Opportunities Plus review committee to help bring innovative research to the attention of external sponsors.
Three Vanderbilt A&S professors awarded 2018 Guggenheim Fellowships
Apr. 5, 2018—College of Arts and Science professors Joel Harrington, Antonis Rokas and Edward Wright-Rios have been awarded highly prestigious 2018 Guggenheim Fellowships for their research.
Vanderbilt evolutionary biologist makes finals of a national award for young scientists
Jun. 6, 2017—Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor in Biological Sciences Antonis Rokas has been selected as a finalist for the $250,000 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists
Faculty committee proposes plan for investment in graduate education and research
Jun. 1, 2017—Following a collaborative rapid cycle process, an ad hoc faculty committee has released a report identifying four proposed thematic areas for future investment in graduate education and research at Vanderbilt.
New method for tapping vast plant pharmacopeia to make more effective drugs
Apr. 14, 2017—Geneticists have developed an effective new method for identifying the genes that produce the chemicals plants use to protect themselves from predators, which are an important natural drug source.
Forget sponges: the earliest animals were marine jellies
Apr. 10, 2017—A powerful new method has been devised to settle contentious phylogenetic tree-of-life issues. such as "What is the oldest branch of the animal family tree?"
Provost names faculty committee to advise on major investment in graduate education and research
Jan. 25, 2017—Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente has appointed a seven-member faculty committee to synthesize ideas submitted by each school and college into a set of recommendations for significant new investments in graduate education and research at Vanderbilt.
New online tool created to tackle complications of pregnancy and childbirth
Nov. 11, 2015—An interdisciplinary team of biologists and medical researchers have created a new platform, which they call GEneSTATION specifically designed to leverage the growing knowledge of human genomics and evolution to advance scientific understanding of human pregnancy and translate it into new treatments for the problems that occur when this complex process goes awry.
Vanderbilt biologists contribute to major genetic study of malaria mosquitoes
Nov. 27, 2014—Vanderbilt biologists played an important supporting role in a major genetic study of malaria-carrying mosquitoes published this week in the journal "Science."