Spring 2022: Division of Comparative Endocrinology

Officer Contact Information

2022 Annual Meeting Highlights

For those of us who attended in person, it was wonderful to share ideas and catch up after a long hiatus, but we still missed many friends and colleagues. Here’s hoping we can all safely attend the 2023 meeting in Austin!

Bidisha Paul holding a Xenopus laevis
Bidisha Paul holding a Xenopus laevis

The SICB 2022 Meeting was held in person in Phoenix, Arizona, with around 30 contributed talks, 30 contributed posters, and 10 symposia talks from our division. DCE also co-sponsored several contributed talks and posters in education sessions. During the meeting, DCE held an outdoor joint social with DAB and DEE. Outgoing DCE Student/Postdoc Rep Carla Madelaire organized the Lunch with a Comparative Endocrinologist event again this year, with 9 mentors and 16 mentees participating in a mix of Zoom and in person meetings.

Thank you to the 23 students who contributed excellent in person and virtual talks and posters to the two DCE Best Student Presentation sessions. The winner of the Aubrey Gorbman Best Student Oral Presentation was Bidisha Paul (pictured at left), with Kat Munley receiving Honorable Mention. The winner of the Lynn Riddiford Best Student Poster was Alex Hoffman (pictured below), with Nichole Procter receiving Honorable Mention. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the individuals that volunteered their time to judge presentations – your efforts are greatly appreciated!

The Bern Lecture featuring Dr. Tyrone Hayes was postponed this year, but we look forward to hearing an exciting and thought-provoking presentation from Dr. Hayes in Austin at the 2023 conference.

 An exciting virtual component of the 2022 conference continued via SICB+ until April 8. DCE had approximately 24 virtual presenters on the 2022 SICB+ platform, and many folks who presented in person also decided to share their work via SICB+.

DCE researchers Jack Bazzell, Julia Russ, Alex Hoffman
DCE researchers Jack Bazzell, Julia Russ, and Alex Hoffman

2023 Meeting in Austin, Texas

In addition to the Bern lecture given by Tyrone Hayes, next January’s meeting will also feature three exciting SICB-wide symposia exploring Sex Diversity and Variation, Micro-scale Life, and Inclusive and Safe Field Biology. DCE has also co-sponsored three additional symposia featuring topics such as Pathways to Adulthood, Biology and Birth, and Torpor Across Birds and Mammals. We are currently soliciting additional symposium ideas for 2024’s meeting in Seattle, so please reach out to Program Officer Sara O’Brien if you have suggestions!

DCE Officer Transitions

Note that the close of the 2022 meeting also coincided with a change of DCE leadership. Rachel Bowden is our new Chair and Kat Munley is our new Student/Postdoc Representative. Thanks so much to Kathleen Hunt for her service to the division as DCE Chair, and to Carla Madelaire for doing an excellent job as the DCE Student/Postdoc Representative.

With the announcement of this newsletter, SICB Spring Elections are open! DCE members are voting to elect a new DCE Program Officer-Elect (see candidate biographies below). Please vote!

Social Media

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @SICB_DCE and to join the DCE Facebook group SICB Division of Comparative Endocrinology. Throughout the year, please tag us in your posts and tweets when you share your research, papers, grants, post-doc or student opportunities, or other news. We would be happy to feature your research on DCE social media!

 Candidates for Program Officer-Elect

Britt Heidinger

Britt Heidinger
Britt Heidinger

Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Biology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 2013-present. Co-director of the Nurturing American Tribal Undergraduate Research and Education (NATURE) Sunday Academy Program, EPSCoR, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 2017-present.

Education: PhD in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 2007; BS in Biology, University of Minnesota – Duluth, Duluth, MN, 1995.

Professional Experience: Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 2013-2019; National Academies Education Fellow, Northstar Summer Institute, Minneapolis, MN, 2014; Post-doctoral Research Associate, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK, 2008-2013; NSF International Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK, 2010-2011.

SICB Activities: Associate Editor for the Jumpstart Issue of ICB, 2021; Co-organizer of Symposium “Stress phenotype: linking molecular, cellular, and physiological stress responses to fitness”, 2019; Conference presentations: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019*, 2021* (* co-author best student poster awards); Runner up for the Aubrey Gorman Award, 2006; DCE Best Student Paper and Poster judge; Loyal SICB Member.

Other Memberships: AOS, AAAS

Research Interests: My research investigates the mechanisms that allow organisms to cope with environmental challenges, including rapidly changing environments, and that underlie life-history trade-offs.

Statement of Goals: I would be honored to serve as the DCE Program Officer. I first began attending SICB meetings as a PhD student, and they have served as an important source of inspiration and community for me. As an Associate Professor, I now love sharing these meetings with my students and introducing them to the people I have met throughout my academic career. My goals for this position are to work with the DCE officers to continue the long-standing tradition of offering well-organized scheduling, exciting symposia that catalyze new research directions, and inclusive networking opportunities for diverse researchers at all academic stages. I have previously co-organized a SICB symposium and have served as a guest editor for a special issue of ICB and appreciate the importance of publishing symposia contributions and would enjoy contributing to this process. I would also look forward to the opportunity to work with Program Officers in other divisions on co-sponsored symposia and educational programs. One of the very special things about the SICB community is its commitment to supporting students and I would love to continue to make this an exciting and welcoming experience for students sharing their scientific ideas for the very first time as well as post-docs and faculty that have been coming back for years. 

Heather E. Watts

Heather Watts
Heather Watts

Current position: Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University

Education: B.S. Biology, Duke University (2001); PhD joint degree in Zoology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Behavior, Michigan State University (2007)

Professional experience: NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior, University of California, Davis (2008-2010); Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Loyola Marymount University (2010-2015); Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Loyola Marymount University (2015-2017), Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University (2017-present)

SICB activities: Member and regular conference participant since 2010. Student poster judge for DCE (2017, 2020) and DAB (2017, 2018, 2020). Broadening Participation program mentor (2019). Symposium participant (2022).

Other memberships: Animal Behavior Society, Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology

Research interests: Behavioral endocrinology and behavioral ecology; Mechanisms used to time life history events, including reproduction and migration.

Statement of Goals: I consider SICB to be my main home society and conference. I’m excited to be able to contribute to the society and DCE through potentially serving as Program Officer. My goals for this role would be to work with the other program officers to provide well-organized and exciting programs for the annual meetings. I also want to contribute to ongoing efforts to make the society and our meetings more inclusive and accessible. I think a strength of SICB is its interest in supporting students and early career scientists, so I would want to continue those efforts as Program Officer. Finally, I would also look forward working with the other DCE officers to strengthen our division.