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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ORGANISMIC AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
ARNOLD ARBORETUM
1300 Centre St, Boston, Massachusetts 02131 USA
Robin Hopkins
email: rhopkins@fas.harvard.edu
EDUCATION
2010
2003
214 Weld Hill Research Building
224 Harvard University Herbaria
Ph.D. Department of Biology, Duke University. Durham, NC (Dr. Mark
Rausher, advisor)
A.B. Brown University. Degree with honors in Biology and degree in Gender
Studies. Providence, RI (Dr. Johanna Schmitt, advisor)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2014-Present Assistant Professor. Harvard University, Department of Organismic and
Evolutionary Biology.
2012-2013
NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology. Drs. Mark Kirkpatrick and
Thomas Juenger, advisors.
2011-2012
Postdoctoral Researcher. Duke University. Reinforcement in Phlox. Dr. Mark
Rausher, advisor
2008-2009
Teaching assistant. Duke University. Introduction to Ecology and Evolution
2004-2005
Lab manager. Population dynamics of plant-herbivore interactions. Florida State
University. Drs. Nora Underwood and Brian Inouye, PIs
2003
Intern. Demography of invasive species on Hawaii. USGS BRD, Pacific Island
Ecosystem Research Center, Volcanoes National Park. Dr. David Foote, PI
2001-2003
Undergraduate research experience. Brown University. Maternal effects and
flowering time variation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Dr. Johanna Schmitt, PI
PUBLICATIONS
Hopkins, Robin, Rafael F. Guerrero, Mark D. Rausher, Mark Kirkpatrick. 2014. Strong
reinforcing selection in a Texas wildflower. Current Biology 24:1995-1999
Hopkins, Robin, Mark D. Rausher. 2014. The cost of reinforcement: Selection on flower color
in allopatric populations of Phlox drummondii. The American Naturalist 183: 693-710
Stuart,Yoel, Daniel Bolnick, Robin Hopkins. 2014. The Unifying Wedge. Evolution 68: 614-616
(Invited book review)
Hopkins, Robin. 2013 Reinforcement in plants. New Phytologist 197: 1095-1103
Burge, D.O., R. Hopkins, Y. Tsai, P. Manos. 2013. Strong differentiation across an edaphic
gradient between the gabbro-endemic shrub Ceanothus roderickii (Rhamnaceae) and the
soil generalist C. Cuneatus. American Journal of Botany 100: 1883-1895
Lowry, D.B. and R. Hopkins. 2013. “Speciation and Natural Selection” in the Princeton Guide to
Evolution, edited by Jonathan Losos. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Invited
book chapter)
Hopkins, Robin, Mark D. Rausher. 2012. Pollinator-mediated selection on flower color allele
drives reinforcement. Science 335: 1090-1092. (Featured in Current Biology Dispatch by
John Pannell)
Hopkins, Robin, Donald A. Levin, Mark D. Rausher. 2012. Molecular signatures of selection on
reproductive character displacement of flower color in Phlox drummondii. Evolution
66:469-485.
Hopkins, Robin, Mark D. Rausher. 2011. Identification of two genes causing reinforcement in
the Texas wildflower Phlox drummondii. Nature 469:411-414.
Hopkins, Robin, J. Schmitt, J. R. Stinchcombe. 2008. A latitudinal cline and response to
vernalization in leaf angle and morphology in Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae). New
Phytologist 179: 155-164.
Hoekman, D., C. Terhorst, A. Bauer, S. Braun, P. Gignac, R. Hopkins, S. Joshi, K. Laskis, N.
Sanscrainte, J. Travis, and T. E. Miller. 2007. Oviposition decreased in response to
enriched water: a field study of the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii. Ecol.
Entomol. 32:92-96.
Stinchcombe, J.R., A.L. Caicedo, R. Hopkins, C. Mays, E.W. Boyd, M. D. Purugganan, J.
Schmitt. 2005. Vernalization sensitivity in Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae): the effects
of latitude and FLC variation. American Journal of Botany 92(10): 1701-1707.
FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS
2015
William F. Milton Fund award. $39,000
2012-2014
National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology.
“Mathematical modeling for reinforcement with assortative mating.” University of
Texas at Austin (advisors, Drs Mark Kirkpatrick & Thomas Juenger). $120,000
2009
NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant. $13,453
2008
NSF DEB Grant “Genetics and evolution of reproductive character displacement
in Phlox drummondii”. Co-wrote with Dr. Mark Rausher (PI). $1,000,000
2008
Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid. $400
2007
Duke University Department of Biology Grant-in-Aid of Research. $1,000
2006-2008
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. $30,000 per year
AWARDS AND HONORS
2013
Jasper J. Loftus-Hills Young Investigators Award, American Society of Naturalists
2012
Tansley Medal for Excellence in Plant Science, New Phytologist. Finalist.
2011
Harold Sanford Perry Prize for best thesis research in plant sciences, Duke
University
2011
Ecological Society of America, Young Plant Population Ecologist of July
2003
James F. Kidwell Prize in Genetics and Population Biology, Brown University
2003
National Honors Scholarship, Brown University. Recipient and banquet speaker
PRESENTATIONS
2015 Invited seminar, Princeton University. The role of natural selection in speciation
2014 Invited seminar, Bowdoin College. Speciation causes flower color evolution in a Texas
wildflower.
2014 Guest speaker in summer course: Plant Morphology: Linking phenotype to development.
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. The costs and benefits of reinforcement.
2014 Invited seminar, University of Chicago. The costs and benefits of reinforcement.
2013 Invited Young Investigator symposium talk at Society for the study of Evolution (SSE)
annual meeting. Selection and Speciation: From genotype to phenotype to reproductive
isolation.
2013 Invited symposium speaker for FROSpects meeting. Montpellier, France. Selection and
Speciation: From genotype to phenotype to reproductive isolation.
2013 Invited seminar for FROSpects workshop, Oslo, Norway. Reinforcement in Phlox: A
colorful role for pollinators in plant speciation.
2013 Invited seminar, Brown University. The genetic basis of reinforcement and the role of
natural selection in speciation.
2013 Invited seminar, University of Maryland. The genetic basis of reinforcement and the role of
natural selection in speciation.
2013 Invited seminar, University of Colorado Bolder. The genetic basis of reinforcement and the
role of natural selection in speciation.
2013 Invited seminar, University of Massachusetts Amherst. The genetic basis of reinforcement
and the role of natural selection in speciation.
2012 Invited seminar, Iowa State University. The genetics and evolution of reinforcement in
Phlox drummondii.
2012 Invited seminar, Université Montpellier. The genetics and ecology of reinforcement in
Phlox.
2012 Invited symposium talk at SSE annual meeting. Selection for speciation: A genetic
dissection of reinforcement in Phlox. Featured in Meeting Briefs in Science. 27 July 2012.
2012 Invited seminar, Harvard University. The genetics and evolution of reinforcement in Phlox
drummondii.
2008-2011, 2014 Contributed talk at the SSE annual meeting.
SERVICE AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Reviewer: Plos Biology, PNAS, Evolution, Ecology, American Naturalist, Ecology Letters, Plant
Cell & Environment, Evolutionary Ecology, Functional Ecology, New Phytologist, Annals of
Botany, Current Opinion in Plant Biology, International Journal of Plant Sciences, Journal of
Ecology, Nature Communications, Ecological Entomology, Journal of Evolutionary Biology,
Educational Outreach: I was a co-leader for an after-school STEM club at the O. Henry Middle
School, Austin, TX. I volunteered for a day for the American Society of Plant Biology booth
at the 2014 National Science Teachers Association annual meeting distributing resources
and discussing plant science curriculum with teachers from all over the country. I coorganized a booth on plant diversity and transpiration for elementary and middle school
children at the “Free Fun Friday!” event hosted by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard
University. I gave a public talk as part of the Tree Mob® community adult-education series
at the Arnold Arboretum.
Mentoring: I have been the primary research mentor for 10 undergraduates and 2 high school
student, including 5 from underrepresented groups and 7 women.
Intellectual Facilitation: I organized a weekly seminar series about population biology, which
brought together graduate students, postdocs, and faculty from area institutions to learn
about and discuss topics in ecology, evolution, and genetics. I also helped organized a
departmental retreat for graduate students, postdocs and faculty. This involved planning
breakout discussion groups, short talks, and team building activities to encourage
communication across the large and diverse biology department.