Rory Coleman received a BS in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Connecticut. In 2017 he received his PhD from Columbia University, where he studied the epigenetic regulation of Hox genes with Gary Struhl. He joined Vanessa Ruta’s laboratory at Rockefeller University for his postdoctoral work. Here he worked to build genetic tools and pipelines to develop Drosophila as a model clade for neuroevolutionary comparative study. He now plans to elucidate the interplay between genetic, neural, morphological, and social systems in the coordination of behavioral diversification across species. He is a former Helen Hay Whitney Fellow and the recipient of an NIH K99 Pathway to Independence Award.