[ Back to Joel | Back to Current Lab People ]

Research Interests | Professional Preparation | Research Experience | Teaching Experience | Field Experience | Grants and Awards | Publications | Scientific Presentations | Membership in Professional and Honor Societies | Collaborators | Journal Clubs lead and organized

Section of Integrative Biology:
University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, California 94720-3140 USA
Tel: 510-642-0591
Fax: 510-643-6264

^top

Research Interests:
Theoretical and empirical study on the evolution of cooperation and conflict. Origin and maintenance of mutualistic symbioses. Legume-rhizobium symbioses. Experimental evolution of viruses. Marine-algal symbioses. Social evolution in birds.

^top

Professional Preparation:

^top

Research Experience:
Undergraduate Lab Assistant to Paul Rudolph, Ph.D. Department of Biology University of Iowa- Taxonomy of bassomatophoran snails 1992-1993

Research Assistant- University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics- Department of Psychiatry-Michael Miller, Ph.D. The Effects of ethanol on the neural development of rats, a cytochemical analysis of NGF and its receptors in developing rats. 1993-1995

Master’s Research- University of North Dakota- Department of Biology The Evolution of colonial breeding in birds: A Test of hypotheses with the red-necked grebe. 1995-1998

Senior Research Assistant- Oregon Health Sciences University- Neurological Sciences Institute. Differential Display-RT-PCR analysis on photoreceptor cells of Xenopus laevis and sacculus hair cells of Carassius auratus. 1998-1999

Ph.D. Research- University of Texas, Department of Integrative Biology-Cooperation and conflict between organisms: model systems and theory. 1999-2004.

Post Doctoral Fellow- University of California-Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology
Evolution of cooperation and conflict in legume-Rhizobium symbioses. 2004-present

^top

Teaching Experience:
University of North Dakota. Department of Zoology
- Teaching Assistant. 1995-1998
- Introductory Biology Lab I & II- One semester each
- Ecology; Field & Lab Course- Two semesters
- Computer Technical Assistant- Web page development and maintenance.

Oregon Health Science University - Neurological Sciences Institute
- Lab Mentor. 1998
- NSI Summer Internship Program for Undergraduates.

University of Texas. Department of Integrative Biology
– Teaching Assistant 1999-2004
- Non-majors Biology: Critical thinking - four semesters
- Ornithology – three semesters

^top

Field Experience:
University of Iowa. 1994. Project Bluebird. Set up and monitored experimental nesting sites for recovering eastern-bluebird (Sialia sialis) populations in Johnson County, Ia.

University of North Dakota. 1996-1998. Master’s thesis research. Two summer field seasons
gathering census data on red-necked grebes (Podiceps grisegena) at Lake Osakis, Mn.

University of Texas. 2000-2004. Doctoral research. Various trips to collect larvae of upside-
down jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana) and their algal symbionts (Symbiodinium microadriaticum).

University of Texas. 2003-2004. Team survey leader. Avian species diversity and demography study on several U.S. Army bases in Texas (Camp Swift and Camp Mabry)

^top

Grants and Awards:
- National Merit Commendation 1989.
- University of Iowa Dean’s List- Three semesters 1990-1993.
- University of North Dakota. Academic Programs and Student Awards Committee
- Field Research Grant. 1995.
- University of North Dakota. Perfect GPA. 1995-1998.
- Dean’s Excellence Fellowship, College of Natural Sciences, University of Texas 1999-2002.
- Excellence in Teaching Award, Nomination, Integrative Biology, University of Texas 2001.
- Gordon Conference Presenter’s Travel Award, University of Texas 2002.
- Carl Gottfried Hartman Graduate Fellowship, $5,000, University of Texas 2003.
- University of Texas- Zoology Scholarship Endowment for Excellence $1050, 2003.
- Bess Heflin Fellowship, $17,000 University of Texas 2003
- NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant- Experimental selection for cheating in a mutualistic symbiont. 2003-2004. $9,212

^top

Publications:

• Sachs, J.L. 2004. The evolution of cooperation and conflict, experimental model systems and theory. Ph.d Dissertation. University of Texas – Austin.
• Sachs, J. L., Mueller, U. G., Wilcox, T. P., and Bull, J. J. 2004. The Evolution of Cooperation, Quarterly Review of Biology 79:135-160. [PDF]
• Nuechterlein, G.L., Buitron, D., Sachs, J.L. and Hughes, C.R. 2003. Red-necked Grebes become semi-colonial when prime nesting habitat is available, Condor. 105(1). [PDF]
• Sachs, J.L., Hughes, C.R. 1999. Characterization of microsatellite loci for red-necked grebes Podiceps grisegena. Molecular Ecology. 8, 687-688. [PDF]
• Sachs, J.L. 1998. The Evolutionary Origin of Coloniality: A Test of Hypotheses with the Red-necked Grebe. Masters Thesis. University of North Dakota.

Submitted Publications:

• Sachs, J.L. and Wilcox, T.P. Cheating in the Cnidarian symbiont Symbiodinium microadriaticum
• Sachs, J.L. and Bull, J.J. Evolution of conflict mediation between genomes
• Sachs, J.L., Hughes, C.R., Nuechterlein, G.L., and Buitron, D. The evolution of colonial breeding in birds: A test of hypotheses with the red-necked grebe.

Book Review:

• Sachs, J.L. The evolving field of cooperation. Review of Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation. 2003. Dahlem workshop report. Peter Hammerstein, Ed. Dahlem University Press, Cambridge. In Quarterly Review of Biology In press. [PDF]

Press Coverage:

• Fast friends, sworn enemies. Liz Pennisi 2003. Science 302:774-775. [PDF]

^top

Scientific Presentations:
“The Evolutionary Origin of Coloniality: A Test of Hypotheses with the Red-necked Grebe.” NSF EPSCoR Interstate Meetings, Brookings, SD. 1997.

“The Evolutionary Origin of Colonial Nesting” American Ornithological Union Symposium, St. Louis, Mo. April 1998.

“Cooperation and Conflict between two bacteriophages: an Experimental System.” Society for the Study of Evolution Meeting, Knoxville, TN. July 2001.

“Cooperation and Conflict between two bacteriophages: an Experimental System.” Gordon Conference on Molecular Evolution, Ventura, CA. January 2002.

“The Evolution of Cooperation: A Perspective.” Society for the Study of Evolution Meeting, Champaign, Il. July 2002.

“Selection for cheating in a mutualistic symbiont.” Rice University. 7, April 2003

“Selection for cheating in a mutualistic symbiont.” University of Texas. 21, April 2003.

“Selection for cheating in a mutualistic symbiont.” Society for the Study of Evolution Meeting, Chico, CA. June 2003.

“Experimental selection for cheating in an algal symbiont” International Symbiosis Society
Meeting, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. August 21, 2003.

“The Evolution of cooperation” University of Texas, Behavioral ecology lecture. September 23, 2003

“Experimental evolution of cooperation and conflict” University of California-Berkeley. October 16, 2003

“The evolutionary origins of cooperation” University of Texas, Dissertation defense. May 7, 2004.

“De novo evolution of cooperation between genomes” Society for the Study of Evolution Meeting, Fort Collins, CO. July 1 2004.

^top

Membership in Professional and Honor Societies:
- Society For the Study of Evolution 2000-Present.
- Gamma Beta Phi Society 2003-Present.

^top

Collaborators:
- Rafe Brown, University of Texas
- Deborah Buitron, North Dakota State University
- James J. Bull (Ph.D. Major Advisor)
- Ben Evans, Columbia University
- Kevin Foster, Rice University
- Colin R. Hughes, Miami University
- Ulrich G. Mueller, University of Texas
- Gary Nuechterlein, North Dakota State University
- Ellen Simms, (Post-doc Advisor) University of California-Berkeley
- Jeff Smith, Emory University
- Thomas P. Wilcox, University of Texas

^top

Journal Clubs lead and organized:
- University of North Dakota. 1997-1998. Started and lead student only journal club discussing
current research in evolution and ecology.

- University of Texas. 2002-2004. Organized a journal club discussing Bird research,

- University of Texas. 2003-2004. Started a student only journal club discussing molecular
evolution, population genetics and experiment

^top