I am submitting this brief report regarding my receipt of the Florida Museum Travel Award for Summer 2025. I would like to express my gratitude for the $1,000 in funding and the opportunity to present my research at the Evolution 2025 conference provided by this support.
The Evolution 2025 was held from June 20 to June 24, 2025, in Athens, GA, USA. According to the organizers’ website (https://www.evolutionmeetings.org/), 2130 participants attended the conference in person in the previous year. The event featured multiple concurrent sessions and symposia focusing on various topics pertaining to evolutionary biology.
My participation in this conference included two parts: delivering my oral presentation on the third day of the concurrent sessions and attending other speakers’ sessions. On June 23, I presented my work, titled “Insights Into the Ancient Sex Chromosomes of the Sharks and Rays”, as a 12-minute oral presentation during the Sex and Recombination session.
My presentation included a brief overview of the current understanding of sex determination and sharing my discoveries about the ancient and conserved sex chromosomes, chromosomal rearrangements, and a candidate for the sex determination of sharks and rays based on genomic analyses. My presentation received positive feedback from the community and valuable discussion regarding the mechanism of X-linked and dosage-based sex determination.
Besides my presentation, I had many interactions with various researchers in the field during the rest of the conference. These interactions provided me with insights into updating my understanding of the advancement in the studies of sex, including novel technologies and the diverse mechanisms found across the Tree of Life. All these experiences are essential for my subsequent work by offering me new perspectives to interpret the results.
Overall, the funding enabled me to share my discoveries with the scientific community, receive constructive feedback, and network with other professionals. These experiences are incredibly beneficial for advancing my research and promoting professional development. I am deeply honored and grateful to have been funded by the Florida Museum, and I look forward to more opportunities to further my research in the future.
Adrian Szu-Hsuan Lee is a graduate student pursuing their M.Sc. through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, advised by Dr. Gavin Naylor, Director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
The 2025 Summer Student Travel Awards are supported by the FLMNH Department of Natural History, including funds from the Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowed Fellowship. If you would like to help support this fund for future student awards, please go to:
Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowed Fellowship