Event:

I am excited to announce the sixth speaker of our seminar series on Light, Emmy Noether Group Leader Lauren Sumner-Rooney from the Museum für Naturkunde and Leibniz Institute for Biodiversity and Evolution, Berlin. Lauren studied Biological Sciences at the University of Oxford and since her PhD at Queen’s University Belfast with Prof Julia Sigwart focusses on understanding visual systems. She was awarded with a DAAD-Leibniz postdoctoral fellowship to study photoreception and vision in echinoderms. Between 2017-2021 at the University of Oxford she established her own research program studying the diversity and evolution of visual system architectures, with a new focus on spiders. Given her great contributions understanding the development, genetics, and architecture of visual system in a diverse set of animals ranging from chitons, brittle stars, gastropods, and trilobites to spiders she was selected as Emmy Noether junior group leader and will present her insights on the evolution of vision. After her presentation there will be the chance to meet with Lauren in person and discuss any open questions or ideas for collaborative efforts.