Did you see that title?! I DID IT! I SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDED MY DOCTORAL DISSERTATION! You may now call me Dr. Alexis Sullivan :D
I'm honestly still feeling pretty dazed about the whole process, but I wanted to post this blog to share with y'all the recording and transcript from the public portion of my Zoom defense. For those who are unfamiliar, each grad student has to pass three tests in a typical Ph.D. program: a candidacy exam, a comprehensive exam, and their dissertation defense. I took my candidacy exam at the beginning of my second year in the Biology program, and basically had to demonstrate that I could read, understand, and synthesize a high-profile scientific publication in my field.
My comprehensive exam happened literally days after I returned from Panama when I had strep throat and a >101°F fever, so I don't remember too much of what occurred haha. I had formed my doctoral committee (a group of professors that decide if I've passed my exams) and had to present my ideas for dissertation format and content. My Nature Ecology and Evolution review paper would serve as my introductory chapter, followed by my lemur, conch, and lizard chapters. At that point I had written a draft of my lemur paper, collected materials for the conch work, and formulated ideas for how the lizard project should be done and what the results could be.
I spent the years between my comps and defense gathering more data, generating results, and writing up the projects into both my 150-page doctoral dissertation and versions that could be individually published in scientific journals. My original plan was to defend in Spring or Summer 2020, but my committee and I decided to push the date into the Fall semester because of the pandemic's implications on the job market. For Penn State graduate programs, a dissertation defense has a public portion where the dissertation is presented to whomever wishes to attend (via Zoom, because coronavirus), then a private portion where the doctoral candidate is grilled by their committee for an hour or two. I had been in touch with my committee pretty regularly over the summer, so the "grilling" was more a fun discussion about how to improve the phrasing in the written dissertation and implications about where my work could lead future research projects.
I am proud to share with you all the public recording of my dissertation defense. My revisions for the written component are due to the graduate school mid-November and I'm hoping to get my chapters published ASAP, so I'll be writing and applying to jobs for the foreseeable future :) I'll get to officially graduate from Penn State on December 19, again via Zoom. I also wanted to post the transcript from my ending acknowledgements here, because it is important to me that everyone on my "Thank You" slide is recognized on all of my online platforms:
I’d like to thank the people and organizations that have helped me along the way, including my advisor PJ and my committee members, and especially Christina, Stephanie, Katie, and Matt.
I got to travel around the world and participate in such amazing opportunities with my lab and others. I am privileged and honored, and I will forever be grateful for getting to know and work with all of you.
I also have to acknowledge my main supporters: my love, my fuzzbutts, my parents, and my sister. And thank you all for your time today. I’m happy to take any questions.
I’d like to thank the people and organizations that have helped me along the way, including my advisor PJ and my committee members, and especially Christina, Stephanie, Katie, and Matt.
I got to travel around the world and participate in such amazing opportunities with my lab and others. I am privileged and honored, and I will forever be grateful for getting to know and work with all of you.
I also have to acknowledge my main supporters: my love, my fuzzbutts, my parents, and my sister. And thank you all for your time today. I’m happy to take any questions.
Doctoral Dissertation Defense Presentation
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AS A DRIVER OF NON-HUMAN
MORPHOLOGICAL AND GENOMIC EVOLUTION
Alexis P. Sullivan
Department of Biology
Advisor - George (PJ) Perry
Committee Chair - Tracy Langkilde
Committee Members - Jesse Lasky, Timothy Ryan, Matthew Reimherr
Friday, October 9, 2020 - 9:00 a.m
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AS A DRIVER OF NON-HUMAN
MORPHOLOGICAL AND GENOMIC EVOLUTION
Alexis P. Sullivan
Department of Biology
Advisor - George (PJ) Perry
Committee Chair - Tracy Langkilde
Committee Members - Jesse Lasky, Timothy Ryan, Matthew Reimherr
Friday, October 9, 2020 - 9:00 a.m