Congratulations to Integrative Biology student Quincy Hansen on being selected as a 2026 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) recipient for their contributions to science and their potential to be a leader in the field.
Quincy's awarded proposal, "Phylogenetics of Hooded Tick spiders for Reconstructing Terrestrial Adaptation in Arachnids," focuses on Ricinulei, a cryptic and understudied arachnid order commonly known as hood tick spiders. Their work aims to produce the first whole genomic sequence of a Ricinuleid, using genomic data to resolve the evolutionary relationships among early branching arachnid groups and reconstruct how key adaptations allowed these animals to colonize land over 440 million years ago. To complement this, Quincy will apply micro-CT scanning and machine-learning-based segmentation to fossils of extinct arachnid groups, helping to place ancient lineages within the arachnid tree of life.
Ultimately, their research speaks to a fundamental question in evolutionary biology: how changes in genome architecture facilitate the novel adaptations that drive major transitions in the history of life. We can't wait to see what they uncover!
Congratulations again, Quincy! Thank you for sharing your research with us!