Collin Bos
I am an evolutionary biologist with a deep passion for herpetology, conservation, and wildlife. My research focuses on genomics and biogeography, striving to understand how populations interact with the landscape and the corresponding mechanisms driving evolution and the diversification.
Education
Master of Science in Evolution, Ecology, and Systematics
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Faculty of Biology
(October 2021 – September 2023)
- Master’s Thesis: Turning around the Cap: Leveraging FrogCap to Find Rearrangements in Organellar Genomic Structures (FROGS). I developed a new bioinformatic method to optimize de novo mitochondrial genome assembly with hybrid enrichment target capture sequence data, assembling 50 mitochondrial genomes from the rare and diverse Madagascan frog subfamily Cophylinae and revealing unique mitochondrial structures. I then leveraged mitochondrial genome assemblies for phylogenomic analyses.
Bachelor of Science in Molecular Environmental Biology
University of California – Berkeley, College of Natural Resources (August 2016 – August 2020)
- Thesis: Molecular Phylogenetics, Systematics, and Biogeography of the Calamariine snakes of Sulawesi and Adjacent Islands. I combined molecular phylogenetics with morphological analyses to shed light on the taxonomy and diversification history of this group, uncovering multiple species (to be described).
Publications
Elevational surveys of Sulawesi herpetofauna 2: Gunung Katopasa on the Eastern Peninsula of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia.
Krone IW, Karin BR, Frederick JH, Amini SS, Scarpetta SG, Hamidy A, Anita S, Riyanto A, Arida E, Laksono WT, Arifin U, Bach BH, Bos C, Jennings CK, Stubbs AL, Peterson K, Shi S, McGuire JA. 2025. Elevational surveys of Sulawesi herpetofauna 2: Mount Katopasa on the Eastern Peninsula of Sulawesi island, Indonesia. PeerJ 13:e20024
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20024
DNA polymerase kappa is the primary translesion synthesis polymerase for aldehyde ICLs
Van der Sluijs RV, Verkennis AEE, Hodskinson MR, Barnett J, Cruz VM, Hernandez-Quiles M, Liolios T, Morton SB, Hendrikx A, Bos C, Post, H, Millington CL, Rouillon C, Ricci G, Mattiroli F, Williams DM, Altelaar M, Vermeulen M, Patel KJ, Knipscheer P. DNA polymerase kappa is the primary translesion synthesis polymerase for aldehyde ICLs. Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 53, Issue 18, 14 October 2025, gkaf875
https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaf875
Kliukin NS, Nguyen TV, Pawangkhanant P, Pham HM, Xuan Le S, Gorin VA, Bos C, Krone IW, Poyarkov NA. 2025. A new species of Dibamus from the Central Highlands of Vietnam with redescription of Dibamus montanus Smith, 1921 (Squamata: Dibamidae). Zootaxa 5693(1):001–031
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5693.1.1
Elevational surveys of Sulawesi herpetofauna 1: Gunung Galang, Gunung Dako Nature Reserve.
Karin BR, Krone IW, Frederick J, Hamidy A, Laksono WT, Amini SS, Arida E, Arifin U, Bach BH, Bos C, Jennings CK, Riyanto A, Scarpetta SG, Stubbs AL, McGuire JA. 2023. Elevational surveys of Sulawesi herpetofauna 1: Gunung Galang, Gunung Dako Nature Reserve. PeerJ 11:e15766
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15766
Ameerega shihuemoy Species Account
Bos, Collin. AmphibiaWeb 2018. Ameerega shihuemoy Species Account. University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
http://amphibiaweb.org/species/8569
Research Experience
Research Technician
Knipscheer Group, Hubrecht Institute
July 2024 – present
Research technician in the Knipscheer group studying DNA damage repair. Extracts derived from unfertilized Xenopus laevis frog eggs provide a powerful system to identify genome maintenance pathways and investigate their molecular mechanisms. Responsibilities include managing and caring for the Xenopus laevis colony, extract creation and other molecular lab work, and developing bioinformatics analysis pipelines.
Graduate Researcher
Scherz Lab, Natural History Museum of Denmark and University of Copenhagen
November 2022 – September 2023
Conducted Master’s thesis research on mitochondrial genome structure of cophyline frogs. Remotely accessed Potsdam University’s HPC cluster to utilize bioinformatic methods for de novo mitochondrial genome assembly and phylogenomic analyses (in prep.).
Evolutionary Biology Section (PI: Ricardo Pereira), LMU München
March 2022 – October 2022
Used command line to access bioinformatics tools available on the BioHPC-Genomics cluster hosted by the LRZ(Leibniz Rechenzentrum) to collect and analyze sequence data and construct phylogenies and haplotype networks for IRT 2 (Individual Research Training) project entitled The Role of Endosymbionts in Reproductive Isolation: Wolbachia introgression across an established hybrid zone.
Herpetology Section (PI: Frank Glaw), Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM)
October 2021 – March 2022
Collected and analyzed morphological data from Madagascan snakes for an IRT 1 project, discovering a unique morphological feature (in prep.).
Undergraduate Researcher
McGuire Lab, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ)
August 2018 – October 2021
- Continue thesis research on Calamariinae systematics and evolution; ongoing research includes obtaining and analyzing additional sequence data to further elucidate the generic-level relationships within the group.
- Collect and analyze morphological and genetic data to describe new species of reptiles and amphibians from Indonesia
Field Technician
Rosenblum Lab, White Sands National Park, New Mexico
June 2019
- Assisted PhD candidate with collection of community composition data from an exclosure experiment. Tasks included conducting lizard and plant surveys, trapping arthropods for sampling, and teardown and cleanup of the experimental site with the conclusion of its 2-year run time.
- Helped run a community outreach event for local schoolchildren, which included a classroom lesson on evolution and ecology, and a field component where we caught lizards to show the kids up close.
Curatorial Assistant
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ)
August 2018 – January 2019
Helped curate and maintain the Herpetology Collection at the MVZ. Responsibilities included spreadsheet data entry and cross-validation with the museum’s database, ensuring specimen jars have correct amount and % ethanol, taxonomically organizing specimens, finding missing specimens, and taking tissue samples for specimens in the process of being cataloged.
Prep Lab Assistant
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ)
August 2018 – January 2019
Prepared vertebrate skeletal specimens for the MVZ research collections: duties included documenting all associated data, taking measurements, dissecting whole animal carcasses, identifying organs, taking tissue samples for the museum’s DNA collection, checking stomach contents, looking for parasites, and then defleshing the animal and properly labeling it to prepare it for the dermestid beetle colony.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology
January 2017 – May 2017
Project on the ecology and evolution of tropical Cretaceous forests: Assisted in taxonomic categorization of leaf fossils from the Cretaceous Period based on morphology, including labeling, organization and data entry for >6,000 specimens.
Grants & Awards
Erasmus+ Traineeship Grant
November 2022
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Cal Alumni Association Leadership Award
August 2016
University of California, Berkeley
Contributed Oral Presentations
23rd European Congress of Herpetology – Bonn, Germany 2025
- Bos C., Petzold A., Hutter C.E., Mullin K.E., Scherz M.D. Using Off-target Reads for De Novo Investigation of Mitochondrial Evolution in Cophyline Frogs (Microhylidae)
World Congress of Herpetology – Kuching, Borneo 2024
- Bos C., Petzold A., Hutter C.E., Mullin K.E., Scherz M.D. Finding rearrangements in Organellar Gene Order (FROGO)
- Bos C., Frederick J., Karin B., Stubbs A., Hamidy A., Riyanto A., Sidik I., McGuire J. Molecular phylogenetics and systematics of Sulawesi reedsnakes (Calamariinae)
Collin Bos 