RESEARCH INTERESTS Evolutionary biology, molecular evolution, genomics, phylogenetics

REBECCA A. CHONG

University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712 USA

Lab: (512) 232-9419 E-mail: becky.chong @ utexas.edu http://web.biosci.utexas.edu/moran/chong.html

EDUCATION

2008 – 2014 Ph.D. in Zoology, Department of Biology, Colorado State University “Complex evolution of mitochondrial genomes: lessons from salamanders” Advisor: Dr. Rachel L. Mueller

2003-2007 B.A. in Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley Advisor: Dr. Jimmy A. McGuire

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Evolutionary biology, molecular evolution, genomics, phylogenetics RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2014 – present Postdoctoral Fellow, Moran Lab, University of Texas Austin

2008 – 2014 Graduate Research Assistant, Mueller Lab, Colorado State University 2007 – 2008 Laboratory Technician, McGuire Lab, University of California Berkeley 2005 – 2007 Undergraduate Researcher, McGuire Lab, University of California

Berkeley

2005 – 2006 Undergraduate Researcher, Briggs Lab, University of California Berkeley GRANTS AND AWARDS

Teaching Award, Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching Award, Department of Biology, CSU (2013)

Education outreach grant, Society for the Study of Evolution Outreach Award (Co-PI $800, 2012) in support of the CSU BSURE program; obtained an additional combined $800 in matching funds from the Departments of Biology and Bioagriculture Science Pest Management

Research grant, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant ($15,000, 2012) on “Impacts of metabolic differences on cytonuclear interactions”

Research grant, Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research ($900, 2010)

Research grant, Society of Systematic Biologists Graduate Student Research Award ($1800, 2010)

Research fellowship, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention (2010)

Research grant, Women in Natural Sciences Research Grant, CSU ($500, 2008)

Scholarship, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Faculty First Student Award, CSU ($2000, 2008)

Undergraduate diversity fellowship, Society for the Study of Evolution and the Society for Systematic Biologists annual meeting, NSF and NESCent (2008)

Travel Grants, multiple small grants in support of travel totaling to ~$3600: Bodega Applied Phylogenetics Workshop, NEScent ($166, 2010); Graduate Student Travel Award, Biology Department, CSU ($550, 2008; $280, 2009; $600, 2012); Estimating Species Trees

Workshop, University of Michigan ($500, 2008); Undergraduate Diversity Fellow travel grant, NSF and NESCent ($1000, 2008); Museum of Vertebrate Zoology travel grant, UC Berkeley ($500, 2008)

PUBLICATIONS

Shepard, D. B., Chong, R. A., Sun, C., Mueller, R. L., and Kozak, K. H. 2014. Nuclear markers for shallow scale phylogenetics in taxa with giant genomes: resolving relationships within the plethodontid salamander genus Desmognathus. In revision.

Frahry, M. B., Sun, C., Chong, R. A., Mueller, R. L. (2015) Low levels of LTR retrotransposon deletion by ectopic recombination in the gigantic genomes of salamanders. Journal of Molecular Evolution. 80(2):120-129

Leaché, A. D., Wagner, P., Linkem, C., Böhme, W., Papenfuss, T. J., Chong, R. A., Lavin, B.,

Bauer, A. M., Nielsen, S., Greenbaum, E., Rodel, MO., Schmitz, A., LeBreton, A., Ineich, I., Chirio, L., Ofori-Boateng, C.,Eniang, E., Baha El Din, S., Lemmon, A., Burbrink, F. T. 2014. A hybrid phylogenetic-phylogenomic approach for species tree estimation in African

Agama lizards with applications to biogeography, character evolution, and diversification.

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 79:215-230

Chong, R. A. and Mueller, R. L. 2013. Evolution along the mutation gradient in the dynamic mitochondrial genome of salamanders. Genome Biology and Evolution 5(9):1652-1660 Chong, R. A. and Mueller, R. L. 2013. Low metabolic rates in salamanders are correlated with

weak selective constraints on mitochondrial genes. Evolution 67(3):894-899 **Recommended by Faculty of 1000 (http://f1000.com/prime/717961604)

Sun, C., Shepard, D. B., Chong, R. A., Lopez-Arriaza, J., Hall, K., Castoe, T. A., Feschotte, C., Pollock, D. D., Mueller, R. L. 2012. LTR retrotransposons contribute to genomic gigantism in plethodontid salamanders. Genome Biology and Evolution 4(2):168-183

Swei, A., Rowley, J. J. L., Rödder, D., Diesmos, M. L. L, Diesmos, A. C., Briggs, C. J., Brown, R., Cao, T. T., Cheng, T. L., Chong, R. A., Han, B., Hero, J. M., Hoang, H. D., Kusrini, M. D., Le, D. T. T, McGuire, J. A., Meegaskumbura, M., Min, M. S., Mulcahy, D. G., Neang, T., Phimmachak, S., Rao, D. Q., Reeder, N. M., Schoville, S. D., Sivongxay, N., Srei, N., Stöck, M., Stuart, B. L., Torres, L. S., Tran, D. T. A, Tunstall, T. S., Vietes, D., Vredenburg, V. T. 2011. Is chytridiomycosis an emerging infectious disease in Asia? PLoS ONE

6(8):e23179

Leaché, A. D., Chong, R. A., Papenfuss, T. J., Wagner, P., Böhme, W., Schmitz, A., Rödel, M. O., LeBreton, M., Ineich, I., Chirio, L., Bauer, A., Eniang, E. A., and Baha El Din. S. 2009. Phylogeny of the genus Agama based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Bonner zoologische Beiträge 56:273-278

Swei, A., Rowley, J. J. L., Rödder, D., Diesmos, M. L. L, Diesmos, A. C., Briggs, C. J., Brown, R., Cao, T. T., Cheng, T. L., Chong, R. A., Han, B., Hero, J. M., Hoang, H. D., Kusrini, M. D., Le, D. T. T, McGuire, J. A., Meegaskumbura, M., Min, M. S., Mulcahy, D. G., Neang, T., Phimmachak, S., Rao, D. Q., Reeder, N. M., Schoville, S. D., Sivongxay, N., Srei, N., Stöck, M., Stuart, B. L., Torres, L. S., Tran, D. T. A, Tunstall, T. S., Vietes, D., Vredenburg, V. T. 2011. Prevalence and distribution of chytridiomycosis throughout Asia. FrogLog 98:33-34

Chong, R.A. and McGuire J.A. 2008. Geographic distribution: Psammodynastes pictus. Herpetological Review 39(1):112

PRESENTATIONS

Chong, R.A. 2014. Molecular evolution in the mitochondrial genome of salamanders. Departmental seminar series, Department of Biology, Colorado State University, CO. Chong, R.A., and R.L. Mueller. 2013. Molecular evolution within dynamic mitochondrial

genomes. Oral presentation at Evolution Conference in Snowbird, UT.

Chong, R.A., R.S. Schwartz, R.L. Mueller. 2011. Low metabolic requirements relax selective constraints on salamander mitochondrial genes. Oral presentation at Evolution Conference in Norman, OK.

Chong, R.A. and R.L. Mueller. 2009. Mitochondrial genome pseudogene decay in the

salamander genus Aneides. Oral presentation at annual Guild of Rocky Mountain Ecologists and Evolutionary Biologists meeting in CO.

Chong, R.A. and R.L. Mueller. 2009. Mitochondrial genome pseudogene decay in the salamander genus Aneides. Oral presentation at Evolution Conference in Moscow, ID. Chong, R.A. and J.A. McGuire. 2008. Phylogeny and Biogeography of a cryptically diverse

assemblage of Wallacean geckos (Genus Cyrtodactylus). Oral presentation at Evolution Conference in Minneapolis, MN.

Chong, R.A. and J.A. McGuire. 2008. Phylogenetics of Wallacean Cyrtodactylus Geckos reveal a cryptically diverse Sulawesi radiation. Poster presentation at Evolution Conference in Minneapolis, MN.

Chong, R.A. 2008. Amphibians and reptiles of the Eastern and Southeastern peninsulas of Sulawesi, Indonesia: a herpetological travelogue. Herpetology Seminar Series, University of California Berkeley, CA.

OTHER SCIENTIFIC PARTICIPATION

2012 Annual Guild of Rocky Mountain Ecologists and Evolutionary Biologists meeting. Mountain Research Station, University of Colorado Boulder, CO.

2011 American Genetics Association Annual Symposium: Genomics and Biodiversity. Guanajuato/Irapuato, Mexico. July 23-27.

2011 Evolutionary genomics of non-model species: next generation sequencing, data management, and hypothesis testing. NSF Funded Workshop & American Genetics Association. Irapuato, Mexico. July 19-22.

2010 Annual Guild of Rocky Mountain Ecologists and Evolutionary Biologists meeting. Pingree Park, Colorado State University, CO.

2010 Bodega Applied Phylogenetics Workshop. Bodega Marine Lab, CA. March 6-13. 2009 7th Annual Ecological Genomics Symposium hosted by Kansas State University, Kansas

City, MO. November 13-15.

2008 Estimating Species Trees Workshop. NSF Funded Workshop & University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI. January 10-11.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Lab Coordinator. BZ329: Herpetology, CSU. 2014. Updated course lab manual and lectures as well as designed new lab materials; held weekly TA meetings to teach and review lab materials; coordinated all lab sections; managed herpetology teaching collection.

Guest Lecturer, CSU. 2012-2013. Lectured for undergraduate and graduate courses: BZ433 Behavioral Genetics: “High throughput gene expression analysis” BZ425/525 Molecular Ecology: “Phylogenetic community assembly”

Graduate Teaching Assistant. BZ329: Herpetology, CSU. 2009-2013. Designed and taught labs in herpetology; developed lab materials and wrote course lab manual; expanded the

herpetology teaching collection including previously unrepresented Colorado taxa.

Graduate Teaching Assistant. BZ220: Introduction to Evolution, CSU. Fall 2009, 2012.

Developed, posted, and graded weekly online assessments; led primary literature discussion sessions for a 260-student lecture course; held review sessions.

Graduate Teaching Assistant. BZ111: Animal Biology Laboratory, CSU. Fall 2008-2011. Donated specimen materials to increase teaching resources for multiple labs.

NSF Undergraduate Fellow. GK-12: Exploring California Biodiversity, Adams Middle School and University of California, Berkeley. 2005-2007.

Undergraduate Student Instructor. Bio 1B: Introductory Biology, University of California, Berkeley. 2004-2005.

SERVICE ACTIVITIES

Postdoctoral mentor (2014-present). Mentoring a nontraditional undergraduate student doing research on coevolution of host and symbiont genomes in the pea aphid system.

Graduate student mentor (2008-2014). Mentored seven CSU undergraduate students doing projects in salamander phylogenetics, molecular evolution, and genome evolution.

Undergraduate Diversity Mentorat Evolution (2013). Served as a mentor for the Undergraduate Diversity at Evolution program, which sends undergraduates presenting their own research posters to the annual Evolution meetings and provides them with mentoring and workshops on career/professional development. I have also participated as a panel speaker (2009) and as and undergraduate diversity fellow (2008). Supported by NESCent.

Graduate student representative on Search Committee (2012-2013). Served on the Biology Department Chair Search Committee as the graduate student representative; participated in all committee functions, served as liaison between the biology graduate student body and the search committee, and organized all graduate student functions for on campus interviews.

Co-organizer of 2012 Biological Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, CSU. Organized and hosted CSU BSURE, a program dedicated to mentoring undergraduates regarding

research experiences and career opportunities. The program involved guest lectures, field trips, and peer group based discussions and activities for 14 undergraduates over nine weeks.

Co-organizer of2010 GREEBs meeting. Organized and hosted the annual Guild of Rocky Mountain Ecologists and Evolutionary Biologists, a regional meeting, with Dr. Cameron Ghalambor.

SOCIETIES

American Genetics Association; Society for the Study of Evolution; Society of Systematic Biologists