Diplomas/Degrees
Diplomas/Degrees
PhD, Arizona State University (2022)
MSc, McGill University (2012)
BS, Haverford College (2009)
Professional Experience
Professional Experience
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Toronto 2024-2025
Postdoctoral Fellow, York University 2022-2024
Project Coordinator, Clinical and Health Informatics, McGill University 2012-2014
Personal Statement
Personal Statement
I am an integrative biologist that uses tools from neurophysiology, computational ethology, genomics, and single-cell transcriptomics in a comparative framework to understand behavioral evolution. Similar behavioral decisions guide an insect’s task specialization in a group and its ecological specialization on a resource. The objective of my research program is thus to understand how sensory systems evolved to facilitate task and ecological specialization.
Recent Courses
Recent Courses
Human Anatomy And Physiology I I ( Lab )
S/T: Neurobiology
Courses Previously Taught
Courses Previously Taught
Instructor of Record, K-12 Science Education, Arizona State University (ASU) 2020
Teaching Assistant, Life Science Courses: ASU, McGill 2009-2021
Dreamscape at ASU Virtual Reality -- Ecology & Evolution focus 2021
BIO360: Animal Physiology Lecture & Breakouts 2018
BIO361: Animal Physiology Lab 2019
BIO340: General Genetics Lecture & Breakouts 2017, 2020
BIO112: Cell and Molecular Biology Lab 2010, 2012
BIO206: Methods in Organismal Biology Lab—Biostatistics 2009, 2011
BIO182-General Biology—Ecology & Evolution focus 2019
BIO100-The Living World-- Survey course 2019
BIO281 Lab-General Biology I Lab—Molecular & Cell focus 2015
Volunteer Instructor, R Workshop, ASU 2018
Science Instructor, The Kew-Forest School, New York City 2014-2015
Specialization/Interests
Specialization/Interests
I am planning to teach courses in the Department of Biology related to neuroscience, evolution, animal behavior, physiology, and anatomy.
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is to reveal the rules of the learning game to students to enable them to be successful. My experience teaching biology to high-school, college, and graduate students, as well as revising curricula to maximize undergraduate student retention, has led to the conclusion that science education is laden with myriad constraints on learning. These include instructional resources in a lab or classroom, media for communication, the student’s resources, and time of both the teacher and student. Therefore, I believe that effective teaching requires high student-motivation, social interactions, and communication about guidelines and feedback. Because evidence suggests that active-learning strategies can reduce learning disparities in diverse student populations (Ballen et al. 2017), I use strategies that require social involvement, diagnostics of prior student understanding, and communication of instructor assumptions and expectations.
Reference:
Ballen, C.J., Wieman, C., Salehi, S., Searle, J.B., Zamudio, K.R., 2017. Enhancing Diversity in Undergraduate Science: Self-Efficacy Drives Performance Gains with Active Learning. CBE Life Sci. Educ. 16, ar56. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-12-0344
Research Interests
Research Interests
I am an integrative biologist that uses tools from neurophysiology, computational ethology, genomics, and single-cell transcriptomics in a comparative framework to understand behavioral evolution. Similar behavioral decisions guide an insect’s task specialization in a group and its ecological specialization on a resource. The objective of my research program is thus to understand how sensory systems evolved to facilitate task and ecological specialization.
International Experience
International Experience
Ecology & Evol. Biology Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Toronto 2024-2025
Postdoctoral Fellow, York University 2022-2024
Project Coordinator, Clinical and Health Informatics, McGill University 2012-2014
Articles
Articles
*=indicates undergraduate student mentee
Pyenson, B.C. & S. M. Rehan (2024) Gene regulation supporting sociality shared across lineages and variation in complexity. Genome. 67. 99-108.
Pyenson, B.C., Huisken, J. L., Gupta, N.*, & S.M. Rehan (2024) The brain atlas of a subsocial bee reflects that of eusocial Hymenoptera. Genes, Brain, & Behavior. 23:e70007. 1-14.
Pyenson, B., Albin-Brooks, C., Burhyte, C.*, & J. Liebig (2022) Worker-like behavioral and physiological phenotype in queens with removed wings in a ponerine ant. Journal of Experimental Biology 225 (18). 1-12: [October 2022 Editor’s Choice; Feature]
Choi, T., Pyenson, B., Liebig, J., & T. Pavlic (2022) Beyond Tracking: Using deep learning to discover novel interactions in biological swarms. Artificial Life and Robotics. 27: 393-400.
Bustamante-Orellana, C., Bai, D., Cevallos-Chavez, J., Kang, Y., Pyenson, B., & C. Xie (2022) Hierarchy Establishment from Nonlinear Social Interactions and Metabolic Costs: an Application to the Harpegnathos saltator. Applied Sciences 12 (9): 4239. 1-21.
Bentley, S.J., Swales, A., Pyenson, B.C., & J. Dawe (2014) Sedimentation, bioturbation, and sedimentary fabric evolution on a Modern mesotidal mudflat: a multi-tracer study of processes, rates, and scales. Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science.141: 56-68.
Sylvan, J.B., Pyenson, B.C., Rouxel, O.J., German, C.R., & K. J. Edwards (2012) Time series analysis of two hydrothermal plumes at 9.50°N East Pacific Rise reveals distinct, heterogeneous bacterial populations. Geobiology. 10: 178-192.
Pyenson, B.C. & Pollack, G.S. (2012) Independent Regulation of Physiological and Behavioral Maturation of Reproduction in Female Crickets, Gryllus firmus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 90(12): 1370-1377.
Conference Presentations
Conference Presentations
Choi, T., Pyenson, B., Liebig, J., & T. Pavlic (2021) Identification of Abnormal States in Videos of Ants Undergoing Social Phase Change. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Third Annual Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI-21).
Choi, T., Pyenson, B., Liebig, J., & T. Pavlic (2021) Beyond Tracking: Using Deep Learning to Discover Novel Interactions in Biological Swarms. In: Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Symposium on Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems; Fourth International Symposium on Swarm Behavior and Bio-Inspired Robotics (DARS-SWARM-2021).[Best Paper Award]
Grants
Grants
Extramural
Post-Grad. Scholarship-Doctoral ($63,000) NSERC 2015-2018
Doctoral Fellowship-declined ($60,000) Fonds de Recherche du Quebec 2014-2017
Intramural
EEB Postdoctoral Fellowship ($117,630) University of Toronto 2024-2025
Summer Fellowship ($2,024) Arizona State U. 2022
Completion Fellowship ($16,911) Arizona State U. 2021
Inclusive Teaching Fellowship ($9,000) Arizona State U. 2021
Grad. Research Support Program ($2,000) Arizona State U. 2021
Student Research Grant ($1,500) Arizona State U. 2018
Graduate College Fellowships ($20,000) Arizona State U. 2018-2021
Interdisciplinary Research Grant ($1000) Arizona State U. 2017
Jumpstart Research Grant ($493) Arizona State U. 2016
Provost Graduate Fellowship ($1,500) McGill University 2009-2010
Louis Green Fund ($500) Haverford College 2009
Nat. Sci. Center Fund ($401) Haverford College 2009
Honors and Accomplishments
Honors and Accomplishments
Editor’s Choice Paper for October J. Exp. Biol 2022
West-Eberhard Best Paper Award Runner-Up IUSSI-NAS 2022
Best Paper Award DARS-SWARM 2021
Innovation Fellowship Volunteer Arizona State U. 2021
Teaching Excellence Award Arizona State U. 2018
Outstanding Mentor Award Arizona State U. 2018
Graduate Excellence Award Arizona State U. 2017
Professional Activities
Professional Activities
International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI)
Symposium Organizer: Mechanisms facilitating the evolution of social behavior in insects at conference in Germany, August 16-20, 2026
Volunteer contributor: DEIJ advisory board
Collaborator
Beenome100
Arizona State University (ASU)
Teaching Award reviewer
Research Award reviewer
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