My Values
The choices we make—how we do science, how we care for the environment, how we treat others—matter. I try to live with intention, knowing that even small actions contribute to a larger whole. These are the principles that guide my work, my research, and my life. These values are even more important with our current presidential regime and a full on attack on scientific progress. Further, I don't separate these professional values from my personal ones; they come with me out the door, into the lab, into the field, into the community, and into the way I engage with the world.

Resistance Through Research & Mentorship
  • I continue to do rigorous science in a world that often undervalues knowledge and expertise -- this is an act of resistance in itself.
  • My research into host-parasite dynamics and ecological interactions has real-world applications. Fundamental work on evolutionary questions has implications for human health, agriculture, conservation, and wildlife disease. 
  • Science is most powerful when it bridges theory, experimentation, and the natural world. Evolutionary and ecological dynamics are shaped by local pressures, historical contingencies, and species interactions—forces that cannot be fully understood in isolation. I refuse to be a biologist fluent in genome analysis but blind to the birds outside my window. Ecological literacy is not optional—it is essential. 
  • I mentor and teach, helping shape future scientists (and those who choose non-science careers to be scientifically literate and well-informed). In a society that often prioritizes profit over ecological well-being, training new researchers who care about these issues is an indirect but meaningful way to push back.
  • I train students from diverse backgrounds, recognizing that diversity extends beyond race and socioeconomic status to lived experience. Science benefits from the perspectives of women returning to their careers after caregiving, students navigating new cultures and languages, and countless others whose unique paths shape their inquiry. True mentorship means acknowledging these differences, adapting my teaching, and ensuring that science diversifies—not just in demographics, but in perspective, resilience, and problem-solving.
  • I am radical about detailed and clear protocols. If I leave this earth, someone will be able to replicate my experiments with extreme precision. 

Resistance Through Sustainable Living
  • I use only what is absolutely necessary: I conduct ethical research, minimizing harm to the organisms I work with. I prioritize reducing and reusing scientific equipment and consumables. In my Lepidoptera surveys, I rely on non-destructive sampling methods except when necessary.
  • I actively choose sustainability in my personal life - whether it's through diet (eating less meat), reducing waste, making intentional purchases, picking up litter on trails, or advocating for environmental awareness. 
  • Small actions, like choosing to repair items instead of discarding them, contribute to a cultural shift toward mindful consumption. I may not change the whole system, but I opt out of the worst parts of it.
  • Living in a way that aligns with my values, even if I'm in the minority, is a way of demonstrating that another path is possible.

Resistance Through Community and Ethical Relationships
  • I value two-eyed seeing—the practice of merging Indigenous knowledge with Western science. No single way of knowing is sufficient on its own, and real solutions require us to hold multiple perspectives in conversation, rather than in conflict.
  • I carry this belief into my collaborations, including my work (in collaboration with Nina Sokolov) with Louis Trevino and Vincent Medina through Ohlone Café and the 'ottoy initiative at UC Berkeley, where we center Indigenous perspectives on ecological stewardship in our understanding of pollinators and native plant relationships.
  • In all my relationships, I value honesty, accountability, and growth. I reflect deeply on how people treat each other and what makes relationships strong.
  • I hold people to a standard of care and mutual respect, which is its own kind of resistance in a society that rewards selfishness.
  • Even when I am disappointed, I choose depth over convenience, integrity over avoidance, and self-awareness over complacency. 

Resistance Through Art & Science Communication
  • I believe that art—especially art that conveys messages about science—is a form of science communication and, in turn, a form of resistance.
  • Scientists have a responsibility to ensure that our work is accurately and adequately translated to society. Even if this wasn’t originally part of our job, it has become our job.
  • Art can communicate science in ways that papers and presentations cannot. It is an entry point for curiosity, connection, and understanding.
  • I actively engage in science communication through artistic expression, bridging the gap between research and the world beyond academia. I do this primarily through needlework (cross-stitch and embroidery), but also through photography.

Resistance Against Despair & Apathy
  • One of the the most dangerous aspects of witnessing selfishness and destruction is the feeling that nothing matters. By continuing to care, to work, to research, to live ethically, I refuse to let the worst parts of humanity define my worldview.
  • Even though negativity bias makes the worst behaviors stand out, I know that there are others who care deeply, and this fills my cup to the brim - scientists, conservationists, thoughtful individuals making small choices that add up.​
  • I take my work seriously, but not myself.  Finding humor, even in difficult times, is essential. It is its own kind of resistance.
Short-ish CV

Patricia Signe White
Born: Murray, Kentucky
Calloway County High School, 2004-2008

Education
Emory University
PhD, Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, 2014-2019
Department of Biology
Advisors: Dr. Levi Morran (Morran Lab Website) and Dr. Jaap de Roode (de Roode Lab Website)

Indiana University, 2008-2012
BA, Anthropology
BS, Human Biology (concentration: Human Origins & Survival)

Current Positions
  • Postdoctoral Researcher with Dr. Mike Boots, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, February 2022-current

​Previous Experience
Workshops/Certifications
Publications
*Asterisk denotes undergraduate researcher on my first-author papers.

In prep/review
17.  White PS, Syuan-Jyun Sun, and Jacobus de Roode. Chapter 13: Insect Flight and Symbiosis in “The Biology of Insect Flight”, ed. Mark K. Asplan. Oxford University Press. In prep.

16. White PS, Meaden S, Roberts KE, Paterson S, Boots M. 2026. Resource-dependent reorganization of host transcriptional architecture during viral challenge. In review at Physiological Entomology.

15. White PS, *Burnsed H, *Rodriguez ZY, *Walzer NA, *Parker N, *Barajas J, Boots M. 2026. Genomic structure predicts antiviral resistance independently of life history in Plodia interpunctella. In revision at Molecular Ecology.

14. Albright W., Tenggardjaja K., et al. Monitoring biodiversity in the context of climate change. 5th California Climate Change Assessment (California Department of Fish and Wildlife) In prep. [P. Signe White listed among "Contributing Authors" in alphabetical order.]

13. O’Neill, Xander; White, Andrew; Silk, Matthew; Northrup, Graham; Saad-Roy, Chadi; White, P. Signe; Boots, Mike. The impact of heterogeneous contact structure on the evolution of pathogen virulence. Accepted at the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

12. Baker, A. J., Balukjian, B., Bayer, H., et al. DNA barcoding of more than one million insect specimens indicates that nearly half of California’s insect biodiversity remains undiscovered. [P. Signe White listed among “Additional Authors” in alphabetical order.] In review at Ecography. https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176494887.72780666/v1

Published

11. Visher E, Ali A, Barajas J, Ramos E, Sui M, Villalobos-Heredia C, Walzer N, White PS, Boots M. Spatially structured host genetic diversity leads to the evolution of local specialization. Evolution, 2026;, qpag008, https://doi-org.libproxy.berkeley.edu/10.1093/evolut/qpag008

10. O’Neill X, White AR, Northrup GR, Saad-Roy CM, White PS, Boots M. 2024. Superspreading and the evolution of virulence. PLOS Computational Biology 21(10), e1013517. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013517

​9. White PS, Broe TY, Kuijpers MCM, Dickey JR, Jackrel SL. 2024. Host identity drives the assembly of phytoplankton microbiomes across a continental and environmental gradient. The ISME Journal, 19(1), wraf083.  https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wraf083

8. Echenique-Subiabre I, Jackrel SL, McCarren J, James CC, Perez-Coronel E, Tran C, Perreault M, Farah U, White PS, Baker HK, Wall CB, Sager L, Becker S, Barton AD, Shurin JB.  Traits determine dispersal and colonization abilities of microbes. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 91:e02055-24.  https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.02055-24

7. White, P.S., *Arslan, D., *Kim, D., Penley, M.J. & Morran, L.T. 2021. Host genetic drift and adaptation in the evolution and maintenance of parasite resistance. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 34(5): 845-851 https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13785

6. Gibson AK, White PS, Penley MJ, de Roode JC, Morran LT. 2020 An experimental test of parasite adaptation to common vs. rare host genotypes. Biology Letters, 16 (7): 20200210 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0210

5. White PS, *Choi A, *Pandey R, *Menezes A, Penley MJ, Gibson AK, de Roode JC, Morran LT. 2019 The evolution of virulence in heterogeneous host populations. Biology Letters, 16 (1): 20190744 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0744

4. White, P.S., Penley, M.J., Tierney, A.R.P., Soper, D.M., and Morran, L.T. Dauer life stage of Caenorhabditis elegans induces elevated levels of defense against the parasite Serratia marcescens. Scientific Reports, 9:11575 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47969-w

3. de Amorim, Julia, Brendan O’Flaherty, Nicholas Harbin, and P. Signe White. 2019. “Hazardous PFAS chemicals in Georgia’s drinking water.” Journal of Science Policy & Governance 14(2).

2. White, P.S., Morran, L.T., and de Roode, J.C. (2017). A Quick Guide: Phoresy. Current Biology, 27, R578-R580.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.073

1. Adrion JR, White PS, Montooth KL. 2015. The Roles of Compensatory Evolution and Constraint in Aminoacyl tRNA Synthetase Evolution. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 33:152-161. doi:10.1093/molbev/msv206