curriculum vitae
A PDF version can be found here
{Updated on 02.nov.2011}
Yingguang Frank Chan 陳盈光
Address:
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology August-Thienemann-Str. 2 D-24306 Plön GermanyE-mail frank [dot] chan [at] evolbio [dot] mpg [dot] de
Personal
Date of birth: 1st November, 1979 Citizenship: Chinese (Hong Kong SAR) and British Nationals (Overseas/Non-EU)
Research Interest
Molecular basis and evolution of adaptive complex traits:
- Identifying genes underlying adaptation.
- Understanding how an adaptive allele contributes to phenotypes and overall fitness.
- Tracing the fate of such adaptive alleles in natural populations.
My research combines the genetic tractability of mouse (laboratory and wild Mus musculus domesticus) and ecological advantages of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus).
Education and Training
2009-Present
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
Project title: Selecting for Giants – Genetic and genomic dissection of parallel body size increase in laboratory and wild mice
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Diethard Tautz
2003-2009
PhD in Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford CA, USA
Dissertation: The genomic basis of parallel evolution in three-spined sticklebacks
Advisor: Dr. David M. Kingsley
1999-2003
BA (Honors) in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Wesleyan University, Middletown CT, USA
Honors thesis: Myosin heavy chain diversity in Danio rerio
Advisor: Dr. Stephen H. Devoto
Publications
8. Chan, Y.F. Parallel evolution: hearing echoes. Heredity (News & Commentary). Solicited.
7. Chan, Y.F., Jones, F.C., McConnell, E., Bryk, J., Bünger, L., Tautz, D. Parallel selection mapping using artificially selected mice reveals bodyweight control genes. Nature (Letter). In review.
6. Jones, F.C.*, Grabherr, M.G.*, Chan, Y.F.*, Russell, P.*, Mauceli, E., Johnson, E., Pirun, M., Zody, M.C., White, S., Birney, E., Searle, S., Schmutz, J., Grimwood, J., Dickson, M.C., Myers, R.M., Miller, C.T., Summers, B.R., Knecht, A.K., Brady, S.D., Zhang, H., Pollen, A.A., Howes, T., Amemiya, C., Broad Institute Genome Sequencing Platform and Whole Genome Assembly Team, Lander, E.S., Di Palma, F., Lindblad-Toh, K., Kingsley, D.M. The genomic basis of adaptive evolution in threespine sticklebacks. Nature (Article). In final revision. (*co-first authorship)
5. Jones, F.C., Chan, Y.F., Schmutz, J., Grimwood, J., Brady, S.D., Southwick, A.M., Absher, D.M., Myers, R.M., Reimchen, T.E., Deagle, B.E., Schluter, D., Kingsley, D.M. A genome-wide genotyping array reveals patterns of global and repeated species-pair divergence in sticklebacks. Current Biology. Manuscript accepted.
4. Deagle, B.E., Jones, F.C., Chan, Y.F., Absher, D.M., Kingsley, D.M., Reimchen, T.E. 2011. Population genomics of parallel phenotypic evolution in stream-lake stickleback. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1552.
3. Greenwood, A.K., Jones, F.C., Chan, Y.F., Brady, S.D., Absher, D.M., Grimwood, J., Schmutz, J., Myers, R.M., Kingsley, D.M., Peichel, C.L. 2011. The genetic basis of cryptic pigment patterns in juvenile threespine sticklebacks. Heredity. 107: 155-166. doi: 10.1038/hdy.2011.1. Published Online February 9, 2011.
2. Chan, Y.F., Villarreal G. Jr., Marks, M.E., Shapiro, M.D., Jones, F.C., Petrov, D.A., Dickson, M., Southwick, A.M., Absher, D.M., Grimwood, J., Schmutz, J., Myers, R.M., Jónsson, B., Schluter, D., Bell, M.A., Kingsley D.M. 2010. Adaptive evolution of pelvic reduction in sticklebacks by recurrent deletion of a Pitx1 enhancer, Science (Article). 327 (5963):302-5. Published Online December 10, 2009. PDF | Supplemental | Nature news feature by Chouard | Science commentary by Pennisi | faculty of 1000 | Origins Blog@Science | Pharyngula | NPR Science Friday MP3,Transcript | ScopeBlog@Stanford | GNXP Blog | Adaptive Complexity Blog | Evolução y Desenvolvimento Blog | Nature Journal Club Blog
1. Kitano, J., Ross, J. A., Mori, S., Kume, M., Jones, F. C., Chan, Y.F., Absher, D.M., Grimwood, J., Schmutz, J., Myers R.M., Kingsley, D.M., Peichel, C.L. 2009. A role for neo-sex chromosomes in stickleback speciation, Nature (Article), 461 (7267):1079-83. Published Online Sep 27, 2009. PDFSupplemental Material
Honours and Awards
2010
Walter M. Fitch Prize Finalist
2008
AAAS/Science Program for Excellence in Science
2003
Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society (Gamma Chapter)
2003
Scott Biomedical Prize for Excellence in Biology
1999
Hong Kong SCMP Student Linguist of the Year
1999
Dr. Li Fook Sin Scholarship
Fellowship and Grants
2011
Young Researcher at the Lindau Nobel Meeting (supported by the Max Planck Society and the Boehringer Ingelheim Stiftung)
2010
Postdoctoral Fellow, VolkswagenStiftung – Evolutionary Biology (160,000€)
2003-2006
Affymetrix Bio-X Fellow, Stanford Graduate Fellowship
2001
CDS International Summer Internship Program
2000, 2002
Howard Hughes Summer Research Fellowship
1999-2003
Freeman Asian Scholar
Invited Seminars and Presentations
2011
31. Guest instructor lecture on spatial and speciation genetics. Winterschool, Molecular Genetics for Zoology and Conservation. Brno, Czech Rep.
30. Special seminar. Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor MI, USA.
29. Special seminar. Genome Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Heidelberg, Germany.
28. Invited Speaker. International Conference on Genomics, BGI. Shenzhen, China.
27. Symposium presentation. VolkswagenStiftung Status Symposium in Evolutionary Biology. Sylt, Germany.
26. Departmental seminar series. Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster. Münster, Germany.
25. Evolutionary Genomics Conference. Coll. Research Ctr/SFB 680 and Research Unit/FOR 1078. Chiemsee, Germany.
24. Special colloquium. Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology. Tübingen, Germany.
23. Special seminar. Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala Universitet. Uppsala, Sweden.
22. Symposium: Selective sweeps in complex demographic and genetic systems. Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Meeting. Kyoto, Japan.
21. Special seminar. D-AGRL, ETH Zürich. Zürich, Switzerland.
20. Institute seminar. Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute. Oakland, CA, USA.
2010
19. Departmental seminar series. Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala Universitet. Uppsala, Sweden.
18. Keynote Speaker. Workshop on Evolutionary Genetics, Society for Genetics. Plön, Germany.
17. Departmental Seminar. Department of Biology, University of Konstanz. Konstanz, Germany.
2009
16. Institute seminar. Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
15. Departmental seminar. Research Institute for the Biology of Farm Animals, Dummerstorf, Germany
14. Institute Seminar. Faroe Marine Research Institute, Faroe Islands
13. Workshop “Evolutionary Genetics”. Society for Genetics, Wittenberg, Germany
12. Departmental Seminar. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
11. Evolutionary Discussion Group, Department of Evolution and Ecology, Univ. of California, Davis. Davis CA, USA.
2008
10. Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Contributed Presentations
2011
9. European Society for Evolutionary Biology Congress. Tübingen, Germany
8. EvoDevo Keystone Symposium. Lake Tahoe CA, USA
2010
7. Workshop on Ecological and Evolutionary Genomics of Adaptation, Conférence Universitaire de Suisse Occidentale. Fribourg, Switzerland
6. Walter M. Fitch Prize Symposium. Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Meeting. Lyon, France
2009
5. International Society for Developmental Biology Congress. Edinburgh, UK
4. Stickleback Behaviour and Evolution Conference. Leicester, UK
2006
3. Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science annual meeting. National Human Genome Research Institute, Los Angeles CA, USA
2. Stickleback Behavior & Evolution Conference. Anchorage AK, USA
2002
1. Connecticut Valley Zebrafish Meeting. Amherst MA, USA
University/Professional Service
2010-Present
Deputy Project Leader, Mouse Research Group, MPI-Plön
2006-2007
Graduate Students Advisory Board, Dept. of Developmental Biology, Stanford University
2001-2003
International Student Advisory Board, Wesleyan University
Teaching Experience
2011
Guest lecturer, Winterschool for molecular genetic approaches in zoology and conservation genetics. Brno, Czech Republic
Guest lecturer, Evolutionary Genetics Course, Institute for Evolutionary Biology, University of Münster
2010
Instructor, MPI-Plön, Graduate Evolutionary Genetics Discussion Course
2004-2008
Teaching Assistant, Stanford University. Stickleback Molecular Genetics Course, NHGRI/CEGS
2002
Teaching Assistant, Wesleyan University. Undergraduate Molecular Biology Course
Referee and Reviewing
- Molecular Biology and Evolution
- Molecular Ecology
- US National Science Foundation/NSF
- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology/FCT
Professional Society Membership
- Society for Developmental Biologists/SDB
- American Association for the Advancement of Science/AAAS
- Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution/SMBE
- European Society for Evolutionary Biology/ESEB
Relevant Field Experience
2009
Mouse trapping and survey, Faroe Islands, Denmark
2008
Stickleback sampling, phenotyping and survey, Scotland, UK
2005-2007
Stickleback sampling and phenotyping, British Columbia, Canada
2004-2008
Stickleback sampling, California
Selected Research Features/Popular Press
BBC, June 2010. “Islanders on Shetland to help with ‘Viking mice’ study”.
radioeins. May, 2010. “Von der Maus zur Monstermaus”.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, April 2010. “Von der Maus zum Monster”.
Baltischer Rundschau, April, 2010. “Von Riesenmäusen und sozialen Mehlkäfern—Noch immer sind viele Rätsel der Evolution ungelöst”.
S. Gilbert. Developmental Biology, 9th edition, April 2010. “Chapter 19: Developmental Mechanisms of Evolutionary Change”.
T. Chouard. Nature, February, 2010. “Revenge of the hopeful monster”.
J. Palca. NPR Science Friday, December, 2009. “Of fish and flies: the evolutionary role of genes”.
E. Pennisi. Science, December, 2009. “Spineless fish and dark flies prove gene regulation crucial”.
J. Galef. Origins/Blogs@Science, November, 2009. “Change in regulatory DNA responsible for stickleback evolution”.
PZ Myers. Pharyngula@ScienceBlogs, October, 2009. “David Kingsley—Fishing for the secrets of vertebrate evolution”.
Computer Languages
Perl, MySQL, R, C++, javascript, php, Matlab
Languages
English (fluent), French (fluent), German (fluent), Cantonese (native), Mandarin (fluent)