Cong Liu
EDUCATION
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)
Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution, 2012.09- 2018.01
Advisor: Dr. Evan Economo
Thesis: Understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes shaping ant biodiversity across spatiotemporal scales
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences (XTBG, CAS)
M.Sc. in Ecology, 2009.09-2012.07
Advisor: Dr. Yan-Qiong Peng
Thesis: Body size in a pollinating fig wasp and implications for stability in a fig-pollinator mutualism
Anhui Normal University, China (AHNU)
B.Sc. in Biology, 2005.09-2009.07
Postdoctoral Fellow
Vidal Lab, Biology Department, UMass Boston.
100 Morrissey Blvd. ​Boston, MA 02125
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APPOINTMENTS
2023.01- Research Associate of Entomology, Musem of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
2023.01- Postdoctoral Fellow, UMass Boston
2019.09-2022.12 E. O. Wilson Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University
2018.08-2019.08 Postdoctoral fellow, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
2016.04-2018.07 JSPS DC2 Fellow, OIST, Japan
2012.09-2016.03 Graduate Research Assistant, OIST, Japan
2009.09-2012.07 Graduate Research Assistant, XTBG, China
HONORS, AWARDS, AND FELLOWSHIPS
2019 E. O. Wilson Biodiversity Fellowship, Harvard University
2016 JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (DC2)
2017 1st Prize for student oral presentation at 11th ATBC (Asia-Pacific) Meeting.
2012 DiAo Fellowship, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
2016 Workshop on Molecular Evolution, MBL, Woods Hole.
2016 Workshop on Population and Speciation Genomics, ÄŒeský Krumlov.
2014 Ant course, California Academy of Science, Borneo.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Outreach: “Wonder of Ants” Scientific Booth, OIST Open Campus (2014-2017).
Ants of Xishuangbanna: Checklist and images of ants in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China.
Editor for: Asian Myrmecology
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Reviewer for: Asian Myrmecology, Basic and Applied Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation, Biological Conservation, Ecological Entomology, Ecology, Ecography, Global Ecology and Conservation, Insect Conservation and Diversity, Insect Science, Journal of Biogeography, Journal of Hymenoptera Research, Landscape Ecology, Molecular Ecology, Myrmecological News, Oecologia, Oikos, Oriental Insects, Zookeys.
PRESENTATIONS
Oral presentations:
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2nd AisaEvo Conference (2021): "The evolution of ant community assembly in Pacific Island"
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Biodiversity estimation in time and space Symposium (2018). “Mountain metacommunities: climate and spatial connectivity shape ant diversity in a complex landscape”
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Annual meeting of Ecological Society of Japan (2018). “Comparative phylogeography of ant genus Strumigenys in Pacific archipelago reveals a deterministic macroevolutionary pathway”
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11th Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) Asia-Pacific Chapter Meeting (2017), Xishuangbanna, China. “Reorganization of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic ant biodiversity after conversion to rubber plantation”
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International Congress of Entomology (ICE 2016), Orlando, USA. “Reorganization of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic ant biodiversity after conversion to rubber plantation”
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Annual meeting of Ecological Society of Japan (2016). “Reorganization of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic ant biodiversity after conversion to rubber plantation”
Invited Seminar:
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Annual Meeting of Ecological Society of Japan (2022). "The evolution of ant community assembly in Pacific Island"
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Harvard University (2019). “Understand the ecological and evolutionary processes shaping ant biodiversity across spatiotemporal scales”
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The City College of New York (2019). “Understanding the eco-evolutionary processes shaping ant biodiversity in the Pacific Archipelago”
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Shaaxi Normal University (2018), China. “The future of ant research in China: biodiversity, comparative genomics and phenomics, and more”
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Yunnan University (2018), China. “The future of ant research in China: biodiversity, comparative genomics and phenomics, and more”
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The University of Hong Kong (2017). “Reorganization of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic ant biodiversity after conversion to rubber plantation”
Poster presentation:
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The Asian Evolutionary Research Conference (2018), Shenzhen, China. “Comparative phylogeography of ant genus Strumigenys in Pacific archipelago reveals a deterministic macroevolutionary pathway”
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International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI 2014), Australia. “How do agricultural practices in South China affect ant communities?”
SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS
Entomology Society of America, Ecological Society of Japan, Entomology Society of China, Ecological Society of China