Jenny Tung, Professor

Jenny Tung

The interplay between genes and behavior is the focus of research in the Tung lab. Specifically, we are interested in how genetic differences and gene regulatory effects shape behavioral traits, and in the reciprocal influence of social and behavioral variation on genetic variation and genome function. To pursue these questions, we focus primarily on highly social populations of nonhuman primates, systems that are natural models for human health, sociality, and evolution.

Office Location:  08 Bio Sci, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone:  +1 919 668 4912
Email Address: send me a message
Web Pages:  http://www.duke.edu/~jt5
http://www.tung-lab.org

Education:

Ph.D.Duke University2010
Specialties:

Primate Biology
Genetics and Genomics
Research Interests: primate behavior, hybridization, gene regulation

Keywords:

Aging • Behavior, Animal • Epigenomics • Gene Expression Regulation • Genetic Variation • Hybridization, Genetic • Kenya • Papio • Primates • RNA Stability • Social Behavior • Social Environment • Social status

Current Ph.D. Students  

Postdocs Mentored

Recent Publications   (search)

  1. Johnston, RA; Aracena, KA; Barreiro, LB; Lea, AJ; Tung, J, DNA methylation-environment interactions in the human genome., eLife, vol. 12 (February, 2024), pp. RP89371 [doi]  [abs]
  2. Housman, G; Tung, J, Next-generation primate genomics: New genome assemblies unlock new questions., Cell, vol. 186 no. 25 (December, 2023), pp. 5433-5437 [doi]  [abs]
  3. Levy, EJ; Lee, A; Long'ida Siodi, I; Helmich, EC; McLean, EM; Malone, EJ; Pickard, MJ; Ranjithkumar, R; Tung, J; Archie, EA; Alberts, SC, Early life drought predicts components of adult body size in wild female baboons., American journal of biological anthropology, vol. 182 no. 3 (November, 2023), pp. 357-371 [doi]  [abs]
  4. Lange, EC; Griffin, M; Fogel, AS; Archie, EA; Tung, J; Alberts, SC, Environmental, sex-specific and genetic determinants of infant social behaviour in a wild primate., Proceedings. Biological sciences, vol. 290 no. 2011 (November, 2023), pp. 20231597 [doi]  [abs]
  5. Zipple, MN; Archie, EA; Tung, J; Mututua, RS; Warutere, JK; Siodi, IL; Altmann, J; Alberts, SC, Five Decades of Data Yield No Support for Adaptive Biasing of Offspring Sex Ratio in Wild Baboons (Papio cynocephalus)., The American naturalist, vol. 202 no. 4 (October, 2023), pp. 383-398 [doi]  [abs]
Selected Invited Lectures

  1. Evolutionary genetics and gene regulation in Old World monkeys, December 6, 2012, New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York City, NY    
  2. Behavior, life history and gene regulation in nonhuman primates, October 30, 2012, Duke University Program in Genetics and Genomics    
  3. Social and ecological effects on genetic structure and gene expression, October 24, 2012, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.    
  4. Genomic effects of social stress and their relationship to gene regulatory changes during aging, October 19, 2012, Max Planck Society - Chinese Academy of Sciences Partner Institute for Computation Biology, Shanghai, China    
  5. Genomic effects of social stress and their relationship to gene regulatory changes during aging, October 16, 2012, Advances in Methodology and Applications: Bio-demography and Multistate Event History Analysis on Healthy Aging, Beijing, China    
  6. Dramatic effects of social behavior on gene regulation in Old World monkeys., August 16, 2012, International Primatological Society Meeting, Cancun, Mexico    
  7. Gene regulation and aging across the life course: exploring the mechanistic underpinnings of social and life history effects on health and physiology, June 7, 2012, Evolutionary Demography Workshop, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany    
  8. Social and ecological effects on genetic structure and gene expression, June 4, 2012, Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya    
  9. Stress and the genome: social effects on gene regulation in a nonhuman primate model for social status, May 11, 2012, Biology of Genomes meeting, Cold Spring Harbor, NY    
  10. Gene regulatory changes in primates, January 24, 2012, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia    
  11. Social regulation of gene expression in rhesus macaques, December 13, 2011, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland    
  12. Social and ecological effects on gene expression, December 07, 2011, Göttinger Freilandtage: Behavioral Constraints and Flexibility, Gottingen, Germany    
  13. Genetic background influences mating behavior in wild baboons, October 12, 2010, Social Systems: Demographic and Genetic Issues, Paimpont, France    
  14. Evolution of functional genetic variation at immune loci in wild baboons, 2010, American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Albuquerque, New Mexico    
  15. Evolutionary genetics in natural primate populations: lessons from wild baboons, 2010, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina    
  16. Gene expression variation in the immune system of primates, 2010, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia    
  17. Socially mediated gene-environment interactions in wild baboons., 2010, Gordon-Kenan Research Seminar on Genes & Behavior, Ventura, California    
  18. Before and after the swarm: behavioral, genetic, and life history implications of hybridization in wild baboons, 2009, Hybridization in Primates Symposium, Göttingen    
  19. Evolution of a malaria resistance gene in wild primates, 2008, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Meeting, Barcelona, Spain    
Selected Poster Session

  1. Genetic, behavioral, and life history implications of hybridization in wild baboons, 2009, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Meeting, Iowa City, IA    
  2. The evolutionary and functional significance of variation in a primate malaria gene, 2007, Ecological Genomics Symposium. Kansas City, MO    
  3. Contrasting signatures of selection in CCR5 and FY regulatory regions between humans and baboons, 2005, Gordon Research Conference: Evolutionary and Ecological Functional Genomics. The Queen’s College, Oxford, UK    
  4. Significance of natural variation in the baboon angiotensin-converting enzyme gene, 2003, Research Symposium: Graduation with Distinction. Durham, NC    
  5. Significance of natural variation in the baboon angiotensin-converting enzyme gene, 2003, Howard Hughes Forum. Durham, NC    
  6. Animal Behavior Society. Bloomington, IN, 2002, Possible behavioral implications of an Alu polymorphism in the baboon angiotensin-converting enzyme gene    
Conferences Organized