Geoff Findlay, PhD

Associate Professor of Biology

Office: O'Neil 107, phone: 508-793-2655

Lab: O'Neil 105

B.A. in biology, Carleton College, 2005

Ph.D. in genome sciences, University of Washington, 2009

postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology and genetics, Wolfner Lab, Cornell University, 2010-2013

Research interests:

I have been interested in the function and evolution of reproductive proteins ever since I did undergraduate research in this area during my summer vacations from college.  This topic is fascinating to me because of a fundamental paradox: reproductive proteins must function properly in order for an organism to enjoy maximal fitness, yet many such proteins evolve remarkably rapidly between even the most closely related of species.  In fact, reproductive proteins are among the fastest evolving in the genome -- just like proteins involved in immune recognition.  How can certain reproductive proteins change so quickly and maintain their essential functions?  Why do other reproductive proteins evolve more typically (i.e., slowly)?

I have been investigating these question in a variety of systems, including the abalone, the house mouse and the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.  Our current work focuses on Drosophila and examines the evolution of genes that evolved very recently, likely from non-protein-coding DNA sequences.  In a variety of animals, such "de novo" evolved genes are often expressed in the testes.  With the support of an NSF CAREER award and outstanding bioinformatics assistance from our collaborators in Dr. Erich Bornberg-Bauer's lab at the University of Münster, we screened over 40 putative de novo genes to identify those that were required for full male fertility.  We found at least four such genes whose knockdown or knockout renders male nearly sterile.  We have functionally characterized these genes and found that they act at a variety of steps in spermatogenesis, such as the elongation of sperm tails and the condensation of sperm nuclei.  In a subsequent Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) grant from the NSF, we have studied the functional consequences of these proteins' evolution across Drosophila species and worked to understand how their 3' untranslated regions impact their post-transcription gene regulation.  Our current work, funded by another NSF RUI grant, focuses on a protein required for sperm entry into eggs and on the functions of putative de novo evolved genes in species other than D. melanogaster.  For more information about these projects, please see our Research page.

Teaching:

In Spring 2026, I taught two lecture sections of Intro to Cell and Molecular Biology (Bio 161).  In Fall 2026, I will teach two sections of Genetics lecture (Bio 261).  Other classes I teach include Genome Evolution (Bio 399; next scheduled for Spring 2027) and Pandemic Policy (CISS 209, with Prof. Denis Kennedy in the Political Science department).

Funding:

Our lab is currently funded by an NSF Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) grant, "Analyzing the interactions and functional conservation of orphan genes required for mature sperm function in Drosophila" (award #2523403).  Amount: $722,198 over three years (2025-2028).

Previous External Funding:

NSF RUI grant, "Understanding how de novo evolved genes evolve protein interactions and regulatory mechanisms in Drosophila reproduction" (award #2212972).  Amount: $662,355 over three years (2022-2026). 

NSF CAREER award, "Functional and evolutionary analysis of de novo evolved genes in Drosophila male reproduction" (award #1652013).  Amount: $780,902 over five years (2017-2022).

Subcontractor for NIH R01, “Actions of seminal proteins in mated Drosophila females” (2R01HD038921-15), awarded to M. Wolfner; amount of subcontract: $25,734.

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH, 2011-2013.

3CPG Postdoc Fellowship, Cornell University, 2010-2011.

For a list of my previous papers, please see the Publications page.

CV (last updated 5/2026):