Maria Akopyan, PhD
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akopyan.bsky.social
Maria Akopyan, PhD
@akopyan.bsky.social
evolutionary genomics | 🐸🐟🦊🧬 | 🇺🇸🇦🇲 | she/her
Now published in Cell! We found that ~15% of SNPs from divergent refs did not liftover as SNPs in the gray fox ref—half mapped to monomorphic sites, half failed to map. Co-authored with Matthew Genchev, @elliecat.bsky.social, and @jazlynmooney.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 22, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Maria Akopyan, PhD
Thrilled to have a new paper out where we use 12+ years of monitoring data to document the impacts of inbreeding on fitness in eastern massasauga rattlesnakes! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Inbreeding reduces fitness in spatially structured populations of a threatened rattlesnake | PNAS
Small and fragmented populations are at high risk of local extinction, in part because of elevated inbreeding and subsequent inbreeding depression....
www.pnas.org
August 20, 2025 at 4:12 AM
I’ve been meaning to write this for a while… but ADHD 😅

I finally did! It’s about creating academic spaces that actually work for people with ADHD. If it resonates, I’d love to connect or hear your thoughts.

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

#ADHD #Neurodiversity #HigherEd
How to Create an ADHD Academic Community (opinion)
Maria Akopyan writes that a grad school ADHD group became a career-spanning lifeline.
www.insidehighered.com
July 23, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Maria Akopyan, PhD
On this week’s ep, Kevin Bird (@stairwaytokevin.bsky.social) explains the events of the last 3 months, how science is funded in the United States, why it is being attacked so aggressively, and the ideologies behind these attacks. Found everywhere you get podcasts.
open.spotify.com/episode/0E9l...
Is science political? - with Kevin Bird
Tiny Living Beings · Episode
open.spotify.com
May 5, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Reposted by Maria Akopyan, PhD
@akopyan.bsky.social et al. analysed 168 genomes of Atlantic silverside, showing that high gene flow leads to clustered divergence in large inversions, while low recombination at centromeres mimics differentiation.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molb...

#evobio #molbio #inversions
Genetic Differentiation is Constrained to Chromosomal Inversions and Putative Centromeres in Locally Adapted Populations With Higher Gene Flow
Abstract. The impact of genome structure on adaptation is a growing focus in evolutionary biology, revealing an important role for structural variation and
doi.org
May 5, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Excited to share our new paper on genetic differentiation in Atlantic silversides! We investigated how genome structure influences adaptation under varying levels of gene flow using a species-specific reference genome and multiple recombination maps. Read on for insights! doi.org/10.1093/molb... 1/7
Genetic differentiation is constrained to chromosomal inversions and putative centromeres in locally adapted populations with higher gene flow
Abstract. The impact of genome structure on adaptation is a growing focus in evolutionary biology, revealing an important role for structural variation and
doi.org
April 18, 2025 at 6:12 PM
1/7 🧬 New Preprint Alert: Our study highlights the risks of using divergent reference genomes in population genomics. The choice of reference genome can skew key inferences about demography, diversity, and selection. Read on for insights! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Divergent reference genomes compromise the reconstruction of demographic histories, selection scans, and population genetic summary statistics
Characterizing genetic variation in natural populations is central to evolutionary biology. However, most non-model organisms lack integral genomic resources such as reference genomes and recombinatio...
www.biorxiv.org
December 4, 2024 at 6:39 PM