Professor Angelini
Photograph of a Soapberry Bug captured by Angelini
Photograph of a Carpenter Bee captured by Angelini
Professor Angelini was hired in 2012. At this time, Colby desired a professor who was able to teach courses in genetics, evolutionary biology, along with a course relating to the given professor?s specialties. Currently, Angelini is an Associate Professor of Biology at Colby, and focuses specifically on developmental genetics, evolutionary developmental biology, and gene expression. Angelini?s research and courses explore how development and genetics intersect with morphological evolution. Angelini believes that evolutionary biologists in the past have often said things about evolution out of ignorance, and because of this, he has been very sensitive to these discrepancies in his field when conducting his own research. As seen in the images above, Angelini?s research today is focused on studying the developmental process of the Soapberry bug, a species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and first discovered in Asia. He has discovered that the wing length of the soapberry bug is dependent on how much food the bug is provided during their juvenile stages. If a soapberry bug is provided with more food, they grow longer wings, and if the bugs are given less food, they grow shorter wings and produce more offspring. The threshold relating to the amount of food it takes to cause the bugs to have longer or shorter wings is genetically determined. In order to adjust this threshold, Angelini has been editing the amount of insulin that each bug is provided during their juvenile stages. Along with this, Angelini has utilized his free time during the pandemic to get more involved with research pertaining to bees, specifically focusing on the shape of their wings and mouths and how it relates to evolutionary developmental biology.
Curated by Jack Vanderhorst