Latest News

High school intern Samantha Incarvito presents her work on Wnt/β-cat signaling to the lab.

Sammie Incarvito, mentored by Kat Hebert and Dominica Cao, presented her work on canonical Wnt and its role in sponge development.

Roy and Jake present at HFSP Awardees Meeting

Roy and Jake present their work on nervous system evolution at the annual Human Frontier Science Program meeting.

Roy Zang receives EMBL Corporate Partnership Programme Fellowship

Through the EMBL Corporate Partnership Programme Fellowship, Roy will work with Gautam Deys Group on expansion microscopy and Kim Remans Group on protein purification.

Sean Liu awarded Russel Henry Chittenden Prize

The Russel Henry Chittenden Prize is awarded to the senior majoring in the natural sciences or in mathematics who ranks highest in scholarship.

Kejue Jia and Jake receive funding for AI in Biology workshop series

Kejue and Jake receive funding to launch an AI in Biology workshop series at Yale.

Kejue Jia, Jake, and Sherein Salem receive ASCEND Initiative grant

Kejue, Jake, and Sherein Salem receive funding to develop an AI-enabled teaching platform for veterinary pathology.

Welcome Daniel Torres-Santana '27 to the lab

Daniel Torres-Santana has joined the lab, studying the role of the osculum in canal system re-organization.

Jake and Scott Nichols receive NSF EDGE grant

Jacob Musser and Scott Nichols (University of Denver) receive an NSF EDGE grant to develop functional genetic tools in freshwater sponges.

High school interns Kadidja and Jason present their work at the Peabody Museum

Kadidja Morou and Jason Ortega Muy presented their work on osculum transplants.

Jackson starts PhD program at Harvard

Jackson Roberts leaves to begin his PhD at Harvard University. Congratulations!

Kejue and Jackson present at PASEDB 2025 Conference

At the Pan American Society for Evolutionary and Developmental Biology Conference in Miami, Florida, Kejue Jia and Jackson Roberts presented posters on their work in the Musser lab.

Jake, Kejue, and Thomas Biederer receive Yale AI Seed Grant

The team receives funding to use AI to investigate the evolutionary assembly of the neuronal synapse.

Vikash Pandey has joined the lab

Vikash Pandey, PhD, has joined as a postdoctoral associate. Welcome!

Presenting at the Origin of Metazoans Conference in Roscoff, France

Jake, Roy, Dominica, and Kat presented at the Origin of Metazoans Conference.

Welcome Oscar Solberg '28 and Sean Liu '26 to the lab

Two new undergrads, Sean Liu '26 and Oscar Solberg '28 have joined the lab. Welcome!

The lab goes on their annual retreat

The lab traveled to rural New York for their annual retreat at a lakeside cabin to talk science!

Kejue presents at Envisioning AI at Yale: An Interdisciplinary Symposium

Kejue Jia presents "Discovering novel cell type functional machinery using AI-based approaches" at AI Symposium

Mah Noor presents her senior thesis

Mah Noor (MCDB '24) presented her senior thesis on "Investigating the role of Ca2+ in freshwater sponge contractility.

Kat, Dom, and Sarah passed their qualifying exams

Kat Hebert, Dominica Cao, and Sarah Morgan are officially PhD Candidates. Congratulations!

Three new PhD students have joined the lab

BBS PhD students Dominica Cao, Kat Hebert, and Sarah Morgan have joined the lab!