Suzy Renn, DAB chair, Chair.DAB@sicb.org; Jordana Sprayberry DAB Program Officer, DPO.DAB@sicb.org; Devaleena Pradhan, DAB Secretary (& Caitlin Gabor) Secretary.DAB@sicb.org; Makenzie Reed, DAB SPDAC (Student Postdoctoral Affairs Committee Representative)
DAB Leadership Update
We welcome Devaleena Pradhan as the incoming DAB Secretary, as a one year replacement for Caitlin Gabor. Devaleena is an Associate Professor of Physiology in the Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University, where she has been a faculty member since 2018. Her work integrates field and laboratory approaches to uncover the mechanisms underlying behavioral performance, demonstrating that hormonal systems are flexible, context-dependent regulators of social behavior and physiology. Her research advances understanding of plasticity in neural, motor, and reproductive systems. During her short term as DAB Secretary, she is looking forward to support this division in record keeping, including keeping the website up-to-date, and serve as a liaison between the members and SICB administration. She is most looking forward to the opportunity to impact students directly by managing the best student presentation awards.
We are excited to welcome Makenzie Reed as the incoming DAB Student Postdoctoral Affairs Committee Representative. She replaces Grace Zhong who did a great job in this inaugural position. Makenzie is a Ph.D. student at Idaho State University. Her research integrates parental care/aggression behaviors, morphology, and endocrinology through the lens of biomechanics. As the DAB SPDAC representative, Makenzie is excited to aid in the development and execution of various SPDAC community events, as well as fostering the same support she felt when first attending SICB.
A huge thank you to all of the presenters, attendees, and volunteers who participated in SICB 2026 in Portland! It was a great turn out. The new coffee break social held jointly with DEE, DPCB and DOB had a great turnout.
We specifically want to express our appreciation to the many participants who engaged with DAB at SICB 2026:
- Student Mentoring Program participants, both students and mentors
- Best Student Presentation competition presenters, attendees, and judges
- DAB Members Meeting attendees
We value your involvement in DAB and extend an invitation to all DAB members to take part in upcoming initiatives! If you’re interested in exploring other ways to engage with SICB/DAB, please reach out to a member of the DAB Executive Committee. Moreover, if you have ideas for enhancing DAB, please share them with us. Email Devaleena at Secretary.DAB@sicb.org.
Best Student Presentation Competitions
Thanks to all who participated in our 2026 Marlene Zuk and Elizabeth Adkins-Regan competitions, including students, judges, and attendees. This year’s events featured outstanding student research and strong engagement throughout DAB. Eight finalists emerged to present in the Zuk Award special session, while twenty-eight students competed in the Adkins-Regan Award for Best Student Poster Presentation. We are proud of both the quality of student research displayed in these competitions and the dedication of judges and DAB members to supporting student professional development.
The Marlene Zuk Award for best oral presentation was awarded to Sunishka Thaker for her talk entitled “Neural basis of alternative mating behaviors in swordtails”. Sunishka is a final year PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin and currently seeking postdoctoral positions. During her PhD, she studied how males of a species of swordtail fish (Xiphophorus nigrensis) with alternative mating tactics respond to stressors in their environment and the neural gene expression underlying courtship and coercive mating tactics. She also explored how females of this species responded to different male mating tactics in terms of physiological and neuroendocrine stress response. She hopes to continue learning about how individuals interact with their social environment and its impacts on their neurophysiology and behavior.
The Zuk Award session featured an outstanding group of high-quality presentations by DAB students. The other Zuk finalists were Tanner Mierow “The initiation and maintenance of snapping shrimp-goby mutualisms,” James Boothroyd “Sexual selection and its associated trade-offs in the leaf footed cactus bug,” Karinne Tennenbaum “A deep learning model for avian bioacoustics requires region-specific training,” William Botta “Differing roles of sensory modalities on mass behavior in zebrafish,” Rebecca Glisson “Testosterone facilitates early crystallization in a wild caught songbird,” Eleanor Rice “Monarchs and mating: persistence of secondary sexual ornaments within a coercive system,” Jesse Hurd “Novel female exposure increases fecundity in adult male prairie voles but not meadow voles.”
Trina Chou received the Elizabeth Adkins-Regan Best Poster Award for her poster “Overwhelmed by choice – Consequences of choice overload in grey treefrogs.” Trina is a third year Ph.D. candidate working with Dr. Jessie Tanner at the University of Tennessee. I am an active member of the Collaborative for Animal Behavior. I am broadly interested in the evolutionary pressures that shape animal acoustic signaling, such as mate selection, within-individual variation, and environmental contexts. I work with several species of chorus frogs and treefrogs around Knoxville, utilizing acoustic recordings and female phonotaxis behaviors as a measure of female preference.
Makenna Juergens was the runner-up for the Elizabeth Adkins-Regan Award for her poster entitled “In my prime: Influence of parity on parental behavior strategies”. Makenna is a current PhD student in the Wilsterman Lab at Colorado State University, where she studies behavior in the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Specifically she is interested in identifying how behaviors change relevant to local adaption along elevational gradients. Makenna focuses on variation in maternal and stress behaviors and their physiological and endocrine underpinnings.
Congratulations to the awardees and finalists! A special thank you to the 30 judges who volunteered their contributions in evaluating and providing feedback for the posters.
DAB Mentoring Program
This year was the first year SICB oversaw the Mentoring Program started by Dr. Rindy Anderson for DAB originally. Mentors were assigned 2-4 mentees via matching made by the SPDAC group, and specifically Grace Zhong for DAB mentors and mentees. Thank you Grace and all that contributed to mentoring. DAB also paid for the coffees of the mentees to further support this program.
Extended Magnum Support for DAB members
We provided additional Mangum Support for 2 DAB students and postdocs attending SICB to help those who have used up prior Mangum support and still require assistance in order to participate in the meeting.
Member Highlights
New Animal Behavior Major at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville has launched a new Animal Behavior major, an interdisciplinary undergraduate program designed to train the next generation of animal behaviorists at a research-intensive (R1) institution. The major brings together faculty and coursework spanning Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Psychology and Neuroscience, Animal Science, Philosophy, Earth Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, and Natural Resources.
The curriculum provides a strong foundation in core animal behavior concepts—communication, learning, social behavior, and experimental design—paired with hands-on laboratory and field experiences. Students then complete coursework across three advanced training areas: (1) Causes of Behavior (neurobiology, physiology, perception), (2) Evolution of Behavior (behavioral ecology, evolutionary history), and (3) Applied Approaches (animal welfare, conservation, and human–animal interactions). A distinctive feature of the program is its integration of ethical, historical, and cultural perspectives on animals, encouraging students to think broadly about how behavior research informs real-world challenges.
The major is anchored by the Collaborative for Animal Behavior (CoLAB; https://colab.utk.edu/), a campus-wide research community that connects students with active research programs spanning wildlife conservation, animal communication, social behavior, behavioral neuroscience, and animal welfare. Students gain early research experience, participate in seminars and workshops, and can pursue internships with zoos, conservation organizations, veterinary clinics, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and animal care facilities.
The Animal Behavior major is now open to students as a BS degree.
Interim Program Director: Todd Freeberg (tfreeber@utk.edu)
Program Director (2026–2027): Alejandro Velez Melendez (avelezme@utk.edu)
Learn more about the program and curriculum here:
https://artsci.utk.edu/academics/programs/cosci/animal-behavior/
Submit Proposals for SICB Symposia
Every year at SICB, symposia generate significant pre-conference excitement and draw large crowds at the conference itself. Please consider submitting a symposium proposal for SICB 2028 in Los Angeles, CA! Organizing a symposium offers an excellent way to highlight current research in your field, introduce emerging scientists to the SICB community, elevate diverse perspectives, and present inclusive and innovative work from your divisions. Symposium proposals for SICB 2028 in Los Angeles will be due September 1st. SICB particularly values integration across divisions and representation from various career stages including tenure track faculty as well as postdocs and graduate students, and from different types of institutions. If you are interested in submitting a proposal but need guidance, we have an ideal resource available to help you! Check out the Symposium Organizer Guidebook, a very thorough guide to proposing and organizing a SICB symposium, complete with a suggested timeline! Generally, proposals should include the broad themes of the symposium, a list of tentative speakers and talk topics or titles, and divisions interested in supporting the symposium (simply email divisional POs to ask for their support). In addition, consider including an affiliated workshop, panel, or exhibit at the conference.
DAB supports symposia that highlight animal behavior across diverse animal systems and co-sponsors symposia that integrate animal behavior with complementary fields of research. We strongly encourage symposia that address diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Benefits of organizing a symposium include raising the visibility of your research area and the opportunity to publish symposium papers in Integrative and Comparative Biology (ICB). If you have an idea for a symposium topic or questions about organizing a symposium, please reach out to DAB’s program officer, Jordana Sprayberry DPO.DAB@sicb.org, who can help you navigate the symposium proposal process.
Follow DAB on Social Media
Please follow us @sicb-dab.bsky.social on Bluesky and join the SICB Division of Animal Behavior group on Facebook. Brett Hodinka (@bretthodinka.bsky.social) is managing this and working hard to boost our social media presence and bring SICB DAB content to your feed. We also thank Lisa Surber-Cunningham (@LisaLSurber), and Mena Davidson.
We would love it if people share/post photos from the conference and/or leading up to the conference.
Upcoming events
ABS 2026
The 2026 Animal Behavior Society (ABS) annual meeting will be held July 14-18 in Cincinnati, OH https://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/2026/. ABS is DAB’s sibling organization, and SICB DAB is often well-represented there!
PROPOSED DAB BYLAWS AMENDMENT
Please look over our edits to our Election bylaws and send any suggestions, edits or comments to Caitlin Gabor Secretary.DAB@sicb.org https://sicb.org/divisions/division-of-animal-behavior/
Please Vote in the Upcoming SICB Election
DAB is electing a new Divisional Program Officer this year, and all DAB members, including students, are encouraged to vote! In addition, all SICB members are eligible and encouraged to vote for Society-wide positions. More information about the two DAB Program Officer candidates is below; the SICB-wide newsletter contains candidate biographies for Society-wide positions. The ballot can be accessed HERE.
A special thanks to the DAB Nominating Committee, composed of Dr. Allison Welch and Ben Sandkham for their work lining up candidates. If you are interested in running for DAB office or serving on a future nominating committee, please reach out to a member of the current DAB Nominating Committee or the current DAB Executive Committee. We encourage all DAB members to consider how to get involved!
Candidates for DAB Secretary Election 2026
Name: Alexandra Bentz
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
Education: B.S., Appalachian State University (2010); M.S., Appalachian State University (2012); Ph.D., University of Georgia (2017)
Professional Experience: Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma (2021–present); Postdoctoral NIH Fellow, Indiana University (2019-2021); Postdoctoral Scholar, Indiana University (2017–2019).
SICB Activities: Member since graduate school, member of the Division of Animal Behavior (DAB) and the Division of Comparative Endocrinology (DCE); judge for the Best Student Presentation competition; mentor in the DAB Mentoring program
Other Memberships: Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Animal Behavior Society, American Ornithologists’ Union, Wilson Ornithological Society
Research Interests: animal behavior, particularly social behaviors; parental effects; endocrinology; developmental biology; neurogenomics; animal physiology; avian biology
Goals Statement: I am honored to be considered for the role of DAB Secretary. I have always considered SICB to be my scientific “home” and look forward to attending the annual meeting every year. The SICB community played a formative role in my development as a scientist (and now that of my students!), so I am excited for the opportunity to give back to the Society. Given my broad training in behavior, endocrinology, and genomics, I believe I am well-suited to serve the diverse membership. As DAB Secretary, I would actively work to showcase the research of early career scientists, support the goals of the executive committee, and facilitate effective communication within the division and the Society-at-large. I would strive to create a collaborative and supportive environment that contributes to the Society’s efforts to foster the next generation of scientists. I am committed to upholding the high standards set by previous officers while also bringing my own unique perspective to the role. Thank you for considering me as a candidate for DAB Secretary.
Name: Jonathan Perez
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Biology, University of South Alabama
Education: PhD in Animal Behavior, University of California Davis; BA in Biology, Amherst College
Professional Experience: Assistant Professor of Biology, University of South Alabama (2020-present), Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow, University of Glasgow/University of Aberdeen (2017-2020), SICB member since 2013.
SICB Activities: DAB/DNSB Mentor (2025-2026), Poster Judge DAB, and Symposium Presenter (2022)
Other Memberships: British Society for Neuroendocrinology, Association of Southeastern Biologists
Research Interests: I am broadly interested in the mechanisms underlying complex behaviors such as migration and reproduction. In particular my work seeks to understand how animals detect, transduce and integrate environmental information to regulate seasonal behavior and physiology. Current areas of work include threat recognition, neural mechanisms of migration and reproduction, seasonality, and organismal response to anthropogenic stressors.
Goals Statement: SICB has been my home conference since I joined the society as a graduate student. Now as a faculty member it has been a joy to be able to bring my own students to SICB so that they can experience the wonderful and supportive environment that is our Society. As secretary I would bring strong organizational skills to managing the division’s records and business minutes. As SICB continues to grow and evolve as a society my goal is to facilitate communication not only within the division, but between the division and the broader society to strengthen interdivisional ties and communication. I am honored to have been nominated and hope that in serving as secretary I will be able to give back to a group that has given me so much over the years.