Ethan Tolman

Ethan Tolman first began pursuing a career in the life sciences as a volunteer and then employee at the Aquarium of Boise in high school. He went on to earn a bachelor’s of science in genetics, genomics, and biotechnology from Brigham Young University. As an undergraduate, Ethan worked as a research assistant and published papers on several projects related to public acceptance of evolutionary theory and willingness to engage in nonpharmaceutical interventions to curb the spread of COVID-19. Ethan then earned a PhD in evolution, ecology, and behavioral biology through the City University of New York and Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural History’s Partner Program, where he studied the evolutionary and conservation genomics of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies). Ethan is currently a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech University. His research interests include resolving the evolutionary history of dragonflies and damselflies, the role of hybridization as a driver of biodiversity, and the genomics of habitat specialists.