Ph.D., Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, University of Maryland, College Park.

Dissertation: Evolution, Development, and Genetics of Opsin Gene Expression in African Cichlid Fishes

Doctoral Research Advisor: Karen L. Carleton.

2011

B.S., cum laude, Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University.

Undergraduate Research Advisor: Robb T. Brumfield.

2006

Research Assistant with Karen L. Carleton, Department of Biology, University of Maryland

Proposal Reviewer, Special Topics in Biology: Genetic Research on Cichlid Fishes, University of Maryland

2011

Student Representative, BEES Graduate Student Organization, University of Maryland

Mentor to Zan Naseer and Jane Schulte, undergraduate researchers, University of Maryland

2010

President, BEES Graduate Student Organization, University of Maryland

Teaching Assistant, Principles of Genetics, University of Maryland

2009

Teaching Assistant, Principles of Biology II: Organismal Biology, University of Maryland

2006-2008

Undergraduate research assistant, LSUMNS, Louisiana State University

2002-2006

Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship

Drs. Wayne T. and Mary T. Hockmeyer Doctoral Fellowship

2010

Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Award, The University of Maryland

2009

GIAR, The American Cichlid Association

GIAR, Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society

GIAR, The Cosmos Club Foundation, Washington, DC

2008

Darwin Fellowship, The University of Maryland

2006

“African cichlids as a model system for understanding the roles of structural and regulatory changes in phenotypic evolution”, Talk, SMBE, Lyon, France.

2010

“Real-time quantitative PCR used to measure opsin gene expression”, Talk, GWU Howard Hughes Summer REU Program, Washington, DC, USA.***

“Convergent evolution of opsin gene expression across multiple African cichlid radiation”, Poster, SMBE, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA.

“Rapid visual system evolution in the cichlid species flock of Lake Malawi”, Talk, SICB, Boston, MA, USA.

2009

“Exceptional visual system diversity among the cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi”, Poster, EEEF, Boston, MA, USA.

2008

O’Quin KE, Smith D, Naseer Z, Schulte J, Engle SD, Loh Y-HE, Streelman JT, Boore JL, Carleton KL. Divergence in cis-regulatory sequences surrounding the opsin gene arrays of African cichlid fishes.  BMC Evolutionary Biology, 11:120.‡

‡ This article ‘Highly Accessed’ in the BMC repository.

O’Quin KE, Smith AR, Sharma A, Carleton KL. New evidence for the role of heterochrony in the repeated evolution of cichlid opsin expression. Evolution & Development 13: 192-203.

2011

*** Invited Presentation

O’Quin KE, Hofmann CM, Hofmann HA, Carleton KL. Parallel evolution of opsin gene expression in African cichlid fishes. Molecular Biology and Evolution 27: 2839-2854.

Hofmann CM, O’Quin KE, Smith AR, Carleton KL. Plasticity of opsin gene expression in cichlids from Lake Malawi. Molecular Ecology 19: 2064-2074.

Derryberry E, Claramunt S, O’Quin KE, Aleixo A, Chesser RT, Remsen Jr. JV, Brumfield RT. Pseudasthenes, a new genus of ovenbird (Aves: Passeriformes: Furnariidae). Zootaxa 2416: 61-68.

Hofmann CM, O’Quin KE, Marshall NJ, Carleton KL. The relationship between lens transmittance and opsin gene expression in cichlids from Lake Malawi. Vision Research 50: 357-363.

2010

Hofmann CM***, O’Quin KE***, Marshall NJ, Cronin TW, Seehausen O, Carleton KL. The eyes have it: regulatory and structural changes both underlie cichlid visual pigment diversity. PLoS Biology 7: e1000266.‡

*** These authors contributed equally to this work.

‡ This article ‘Recommended’ by the Faculty of 1000.

2009

Graduate Student Research Award, BEES Program

2011

Postdoctoral Fellow with William R. Jeffery, Department of Biology, University of Maryland

Present