Dr. Bridgett vonHoldt is an evolutionary biologist at Princeton University’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. One of her research interests is learning about the genomic changes that occurred in canines due to strong selective pressures during their transition from wolves to dogs. Her research group studies a diversity of perspectives relevant to canine genomics, from hybridization and admixture genetics to the role of gene regulation and epigenetic modifications. She is currently investigating the role of transposable elements in shaping the variation in canine social behavior, through a large-scale evolutionary assessment coupled with functional genomics. She is an long-time cat owner and has recently adopted her first real canine, Marla, the English Sheepdog.