Campbell-Staton Group gets Pew Biomedical Scholarship to study evolution and adaptation of wolves in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

The Campbell-Staton Group will investigate the evolution of protective, anti-cancer responses in wolves that live in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. In 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant released 100,000 pounds of radioactive material into the environment. Although humans no longer occupy the area surrounding the facility, generations of wolves continue to hunt and breed within the exclusion zone. The Campbell-Staton Group is investigating the hypothesis that constant exposure to radiation has been a source of natural selection for the Chernobyl population, targeting genetic variants in the wolf genome associated with increased cancer resilience.

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-biomedical-scholars/directory-of-pew-scholars/2022/shane-campbell-staton