Whitney B. Leach

Divergence in the Pelagic Zone: Genomic Signatures of Speciation and Adaptation in the Ctenophore Mnemiopsis

This study identifies two distinct species of Mnemiopsis in the US Atlantic coast using genomic analysis, revealing divergence driven by Pleistocene climate transitions and oceanographic changes.

NvashA function reveals temporal differences in neural subtype generation in cnidarians

The paper uses single-cell RNA sequencing to show that distinct neuronal subtypes in cnidarians emerge at different developmental stages, revealing temporal patterning in neurogenesis.