Call for Applications: Evolutionary Quantitative Genetics 2016, a NIMBioS Tutorial

[Catherine Crawley]

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) is now accepting applications for its Tutorial, "Evolutionary
Quantitative Genetics 2016," to be held August 8-12, 2016, at NIMBioS.

*Objectives: *This tutorial will review the basics of theory in the
field of evolutionary quantitative genetics and its connections to
evolution observed at various time scales. Quantitative genetics deals
with the inheritance of measurements of traits that are affected by many
genes. Quantitative genetic theory for natural populations was developed
considerably in the period from 1970 to 1990 and up to the present, and
it has been applied to a wide range of phenomena including the evolution
of differences between the sexes, sexual preferences, life history
traits, plasticity of traits, as well as the evolution of body size and
other morphological measurements. Textbooks have not kept pace with
these developments, and currently few universities offer courses in this
subject aimed at evolutionary biologists. There is a need for
evolutionary biologists to understand this field because of the ability
to collect large amounts of data by computer, the development of
statistical methods for changes of traits on evolutionary trees and for
changes in a single species through time, and the realization that
quantitative characters will not soon be fully explained by genomics.
This tutorial aims to fill this need by reviewing basic aspects of
theory and illustrating how that theory can be tested with data, both
from single species and with multiple-species phylogenies. Participants
will learn to use R, an open-source statistical programming language, to
build and test evolutionary models. The intended participants for this
tutorial are graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty members in
evolutionary biology.

The content of this tutorial will be similar to the tutorial held at
NIMBioS in 2015. For more information about that tutorial, visit
http://www.nimbios.org/tutorials/TT_eqg2015

For more information about the 2016 tutorial and a link to the online
application form, go to http://www.nimbios.org/tutorials/TT_eqg2016

*Location: *NIMBioS at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

*Co-Organizers: *Stevan J. Arnold, Integrative Biology, Oregon State
Univ. and Joe Felsenstein, Genome Sciences, Univ. of Washington, Seattle

*Instructors: *Stevan J. Arnold, Integrative Biology, Oregon State
Univ.; Patrick Carter, Evolutionary Physiology, Washington State Univ.,
Pullman; Joe Felsenstein, Genome Sciences, Univ. of Washington, Seattle;
Adam Jones, Biology, Texas A&M Univ.; Emilia Martins, Biology, Indiana
Univ., Bloomington; Brian O'Meara, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Univ.
of Tennessee; and Josef Uyeda, Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies,
Univ. of Idaho, Moscow. Others TBA.

*Co-Sponsor:* The American Society of Naturalists

There are no fees associated with this tutorial. Tutorial participation
in the tutorial is by application only. Individuals with a strong
interest in the topic, including post-docs and graduate students, are
encouraged to apply, and successful applicants will be notified within
two weeks of the application deadline.

*Food and Lodging: *Breakfast and lunch will be provided at NIMBioS each
day of the tutorial, as well as coffee and mid-morning and mid-afternoon
snacks. NIMBioS is not covering dinner, travel, or lodging expenses for
participants. A block of rooms at a group rate will be reserved at the
Four Points by Sheraton Knoxville Cumberland House Hotel. More
information will be available here soon about room rates and how
participants can make reservations.

*Application deadline:* May 1, 2016

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) (http://www.nimbios.org) brings together researchers from
around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to
investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life
sciences. NIMBioS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, with
additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

*****************************
Catherine Crawley, Ph.D.
Communications Manager
National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS)
University of Tennessee
1122 Volunteer Blvd, Ste. 106
Knoxville, TN 37996
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