Wendy Valencia-Montoya awarded the Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize

Rectangular dark blue graphic announcing an award. On the left, large white text reads “Wendy Valencia-Montoya” and below in smaller text “2026 Society for the Study of Evolution Dobzhansky Prize.” On the right is a circular photo of a smiling person with long straight dark hair and bangs, wearing dangling earrings and a black patterned vest over a white top, against a blurred indoor–outdoor background.

Congratulations to Wendy Valencia-Montoya (PhD '25, Naomi Pierce, Advisor) awarded The Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize. The Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize is awarded annually by the Society for the Study of Evolution to recognize the accomplishments and future promise of an outstanding early-career evolutionary biologist.

Wendy is honored for her research investigating the molecular basis of specialized species interactions, such as how signals and senses evolve to enable communication between organisms, as well as the molecular pathways that confer resistance in species that have adapted to feed on highly neurotoxic plants. Wendy's work brings together evolutionary biology, sensory physiology, and comparative genomics to understand how organisms adapt to rapidly changing environments and how sensory innovations arise. 

Wendy, currently a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows, will present the Dobzhansky Prize talk during the Evolution meeting in June.

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