Thomas Flatt, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Marc Tatar’s group.
My main interest is in the evolution and mechanisms of aging and senescence.

Future Job Opportunities in My Group in Vienna

In January 2009, I will start my independent research group in the Institute for Population Genetics at the Veterinary Medical University in Vienna (Austria). I will be seeking talented, independent, dynamic and highly motivated biologists with a strong background in evolutionary and/or molecular biology. The focus of research will be in the general area of the evolution and molecular mechanisms underlying variation in aging and life history traits, using Drosophila as a model system. Evolutionary or molecular biologists interested in doing a PhD or Postdoc in my new research group should contact me at Thomas_Flatt@Brown.Edu to discuss future job opportunities. Download Pdf with further information.

Research Interests

“…integrating an understanding of mechanisms into life history theory will
be one of the most exciting tasks facing evolutionary biologists in the 21st century.”

Barnes & Partridge (2003) Animal Behaviour

I study the genetic and physiological mechanisms underlying the evolution of life history traits. How do life history traits evolve, within and among species, to generate phenotypic variation? What are the mechanisms regulating life history plasticity and trade-offs? My central focus is on understanding how hormonal signaling pathways (insulin, juvenile hormone, and ecdysone) affect the expression and evolution of aging and trade-offs between reproduction and lifespan, immune function, and somatic maintenance. To address these problems I use the tools of evolutionary genetics, molecular genetics, and physiology in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and closely related species.

Education and Training

• Studies in Biology at the University of Basel, 1994-1999
• Research Associate with Richard Shine, University of Sydney, 1998-1999
• M.Sc. with Stephen Stearns, University of Basel, 1999
• Ph.D. with Tadeusz Kawecki, University of Fribourg, 2004
• Research Assoc. with Neal Silverman, UMass Med. School, Worcester, 2004-2005
• Postdoc with Marc Tatar, Brown University, 2004–2008
• Assistant Professor, Institute for Population Genetics, Veterinary Medical University, Vienna (Austria), January 2009 -

Honors and Awards

• Advanced Postdoctoral Fellow, Swiss National Science Foundation (2006-2008)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, NIH (grant to Marc Tatar, 2006-date)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Roche Research Foundation (2005-2006)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Swiss National Science Foundation (2004-2005)
• Predoctoral Fellow, Swiss National Science Foundation (2000-2003)
• Fellow, Roche Research Foundation, Basel (1998, 2003, 2004)
• Longterm Fellow, Swiss Study Foundation, Zurich (1994-2004)

Download CV

Selected Publications

Flatt, T., Heyland, A., Rus, F., Porpiglia, E., Sherlock, C., Yamamoto, R., Garbuzov, A., Palli, S.R., Tatar, M., and N. Silverman. 2008. Hormonal regulation of the humoral innate immune response in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Experimental Biology 211:2712-2724. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., Min, K.-J., D’Alberto, C., Villa-Cuesta, E., Cumbers, J., Lehmann, R., Jones, D.L., and M. Tatar. 2008. Drosophila Germ-Line Modulation of Insulin Signaling and Lifespan. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 105:6368-6373. Download Pdf

Crook, T.C., Flatt, T., and P.T. Smiseth. 2008. Hormonal modulation of larval begging and growth in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. Animal Behaviour 75:71-77. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., and D.E.L. Promislow. 2007. Physiology: still pondering an age-old question. Science 318:1255-1256. [Invited Perspective]. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., and T.J. Kawecki. 2007. Juvenile hormone as a regulator of the trade-off between reproduction and life span in Drosophila melanogaster. Evolution 61:1980-1991. Download Pdf

Shingleton, A., Frankino, W.A., Flatt, T., Nijhout, H.F., and D. Emlen. 2007. Size and shape: the developmental regulation of static allometry in insects. BioEssays 29:536-548. Download Pdf

Min, K.-J., Flatt, T., Kulaots, I., and M. Tatar. 2007. Counting calories in Drosophila dietary restriction. Experimental Gerontology 42:247-251. Download Pdf

Braendle, C., and T. Flatt. 2006. A role for genetic accommodation in evolution? BioEssays 28:868-873. [Invited Commentary]. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., Moroz, L. L., Tatar, M.,  A. Heyland. 2006. Comparing thyroid and insect hormone signaling. Integrative & Comparative Biology 46:777-794. Download Pdf

Bishop, C., Erezyilmaz, D.F., Flatt, T., Georgiou, C.D., Hadfield, M., Heyland, A., Hodin, J., Jacobs, M., Maslakova, S.A., Pires, A., Reitzel, A., Santagata, S., Tanaka, K., Youson, J.H. 2006. What is metamorphosis? Integrative & Comparative Biology 46:655-661. Download Pdf

Killingback, T., Bieri, J., and T. Flatt. 2006. Evolution in group-structured populations can resolve the tragedy of the commons. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 273:1477-1481 Download Pdf | Download Supplementary Materials [Featured in BioScience 56(5), May 2006: pp. 456 Download Pdf]

Tu, M.P., Flatt, T., and M. Tatar. 2006. Juvenile and steroid hormones in Drosophila melanogaster longevity. Chapter 16 (pp. 415-448) in the Handbook of the Biology of Aging, 6th Edition (Editors: Edward J. Masoro and Steven N. Austad), Academic Press (Elsevier), San Diego. [Invited Chapter]. Order the Book | Download Pdf

Flatt, T. , Tu, M.-P., and M. Tatar. 2005. Hormonal pleiotropy and the juvenile hormone regulation of Drosophila development and life history. BioEssays 27:999-1010. [Invited Review, with Cover] Download Pdf

Flatt, T. 2005. The evolutionary genetics of canalization. Quarterly Review of Biology 80: 287-316. Download Pdf

Altwegg, R., Dummermuth, S., Anholt, B.R., and T. Flatt. 2005. Winter weather affects asp viper (Vipera aspis aspis) population dynamics through susceptible juveniles. Oikos 110: 55-66. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., Kawecki, T.J. 2004. Pleiotropic effects of Methoprene-tolerant (Met), a gene involved in juvenile hormone metabolism, on life history traits in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetica 122: 141-160. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., Scheuring, I. 2004. Stabilizing factors interact in promoting host-parasite coexistence. Journal of Theoretical Biology 228: 241-249. Download Pdf

Flatt, T. 2004. Assessing natural variation in genes affecting Drosophila lifespan. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 125: 155-159. Download Pdf

Rauch, G., Simon, J.-C., Chaubet, B., Haack, L., Flatt, T., Weisser, W.W. 2002. The influence of ant-attendance on aphid feeding behaviour investigated with the electrical penetration graph technique. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 102: 13-20. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., Shine, R., Borges-Landaez, P.A., Downes, S.J. 2001. Phenotypic variation in an oviparous montane lizard: effects of thermal and hydric incubation environments. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 74:339-350. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., Maire, N., Doebeli, M. 2001. A bit of sex stabilizes host-parasite dynamics. Journal of Theoretical Biology 212: 345-354. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., Weisser, W.W. 2000. The effects of mutualistic ants on aphid life-history traits. Ecology 81: 3522-3529. Download Pdf

Flatt, T., Dummermuth, S., Anholt, B.R. 1997. Mark-recapture estimates of survival in populations of the asp viper, Vipera aspis aspis. Journal of Herpetology 31: 558-564. Download Pdf

Contact Information

Thomas Flatt
Division of Biology and Medicine
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Brown University
Box G-W
Providence, RI 02912, USA

Phone: +(401) 863-6378
Phone: +(401) 863-2893
Fax: +(401) 863-2166

E-mail: Thomas_Flatt@Brown.Edu

NEW ADDRESS, as of 1 January 2009

Dr. Thomas Flatt
Veterinary Medical University Vienna
Institute for Population Genetics
Veterinärplatz 1
A-1210 Vienna, Austria

Vox +43-1-25077-5600
Fax +43-1-25077-5693
E-mail: Thomas.Flatt@vu-wien.ac.at
http://i122server.vu-wien.ac.at/pop/pop_gen.html

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