Ehab Abouheif
Ehab Abouheif | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 28, 1971 Montreal, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Biologist, professor |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Known for | Research on ant societies, evolutionary developmental biology |
Ehab Abouheif (born 28 July 1971 in Montreal, Canada) is a Canadian biologist who holds a professorship in the Department of Biology at McGill University. His expertise lies in combining ecological, evolutionary, and developmental biology perspectives to study ant societies and uncover the origins and evolutionary pathways of intricate biological systems. He played a pivotal role as the inaugural President of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology and is a co-founder of the McGill Centre for Islam and Science.
Education
Abouheif completed his undergraduate studies in 1993 and earned a Master's degree with Honors in 1995, both from Concordia University. He obtained his doctoral degree in Biology from Duke University in 2002. His postdoctoral training commenced at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute affiliated with the University of Chicago and culminated at the University of California, Berkeley in 2003. In 2004, he joined McGill University as an Assistant Professor and was appointed Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Evolutionary Developmental Biology. He currently holds the distinguished title of James McGill Professor within the Department of Biology.
Research
In 2012, Abouheif made a significant discovery regarding "supersoldier ants," demonstrating that ancient genetic capabilities—latent within genomes for millions of years—can be reactivated by environmental stimuli, resulting in phenotypic variations resembling ancestral traits. Such genetic potentials can subsequently be exploited by natural selection to facilitate adaptation and evolutionary processes. His ongoing research focuses on elucidating the molecular basis for this genetic storage and activation, with potential applications spanning animal and plant breeding, medical science, and biodiversity preservation.
Honors and service
Abouheif has been honored with notable awards including the Sloan Fellowship (2006), Steacie Fellowship (2014), and Guggenheim Fellowship (2017). He was inducted as a Member of the Royal Society of Canada in 2016 and is part of the College of New Artists, Scholars, and Scientists. Additionally, he served as the founding President of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology and co-established the McGill Centre for Islam and Science.
Selected publications
Among his most influential publications is "The evolution of transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes," which has garnered over 1,000 citations. Noteworthy articles include:
- Abouheif, E. 1997. Developmental Genetics and Homology: a hierarchical approach. Trends Ecol Evol 12:405-408
- Abouheif et al. 1997. Homology and Developmental Genes. Trends Genet 13:432-433
- Abouheif, E. 1999. The 'Abouheif test' for phylogenetic independence in comparative data. Evolutionary Ecology Research 1:895-909
- Abouheif & Wray, 2002. Evolution of gene networks underlying ant wing polyphenism. Science 297:249-252
- Khila & Abouheif, 2008. Reproductive constraint maintains social harmony in ants. PNAS 105:17884-17889
- Rajakumar et al., 2012. Ancestral Developmental Potential Facilitates Parallel Evolution in Ants. Science 335:79-82
- Khila, Abouheif & Rowe, 2012. Sexually antagonistic trait genetics and fitness consequences. Science 336:585-589
- Rajakumar & Abouheif, 2013. Ancestral developmental potential as a tool for animal breeding, National Breeders Roundtable Proceedings
- Alvarado et al., 2015. Epigenetic variation in Egfr gene influences quantitative traits in ants. Nature Communications 6:6513