Bio
Thanks for visiting! I am an evolutionary biologist passionate about understanding how and why diverse behaviors evolve in nature. I'm currently a Leon Levy Scholar in Neuroscience at Columbia University's Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. I work with Ishmail Abdus-Saboor to study genetic and neuronal mechanisms underlying social behaviors in the African naked mole-rat.
I completed my Ph.D. at Princeton University, working with Lindy McBride. I studied the enigmatic evolutionary origin of an urban, human-biting form of the Culex pipiens mosquito, also known as the "London Underground Mosquito." Collaborating with 200+ amazing mosquito researchers worldwide, I sequenced and analyzed 800 mosquito genomes and found that the human-biting mosquito has surprisingly ancient origins.
I earned my Master's at Columbia University where I studied the genomic basis of behavioral variation in beetles with Dustin Rubenstein and Sheng-Feng Shen. I was also fortunate enough to be in the lab of Molly Przeworski, working with Molly Schumer (now at Stanford) and Zack Baker on the evolution of recombination hotspots.
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, I graduated from the University of Tokyo for my undergraduate degree. I worked with Nobuyuki Kutsukake at SOKENDAI on the evolution of (eu)sociality in the naked mole-rat and other African rodents.
I spent most of my youth chasing soccer balls, savoring ramen, and playing Nintendo games. Since moving to NYC for grad school, I've found a new passion for beautiful jazz and flavorful coffee.
Publications Highlighted pubs * Corresponding + Equal contribution
10.
Haba Y*, PipPop Consortium, Korlević P, McAlister E, Lawniczak MKN, Schumer M, Rose NH, McBride CS*. (2025) Ancient origin of an urban belowground mosquito. Science 390:eady4515
Science Perspective :
Munshi-South J, Evankow A. (2025) Urban pests travels with ancient humans.
Selected media coverage :
Princeton University |
Nature |
The Independent |
New Scientist |
ScienceNews
9. Hesson J, Haba Y, McBride CS, …, Makunin A. (2025) A chromosomal reference genome sequence for the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens, Linnaeus, 1758. Wellcome Open Research 10:107
8. Yang Q, Wang B, Lemey P, … Haba Y, …, Grenfell B. (2024) Synchrony of Bird Migration with Global Dispersal of Avian Influenza Reveals Exposed Bird Orders. Nature Communications 15, 1126
7. Ryazansky SS, Chen C, …, Haba Y, …, Sharakhova MV. (2024) The chromosome-scale genome assembly for the West Nile vector Culex quinquefasciatus uncovers patterns of genome evolution in mosquitoes. BMC Biology 22, 16
6. Arich S, Haba Y, Assaid N, Fritz ML, McBride CS, Weill M, Taki H, Sarih M, Labbé P. (2022) No association between habitat, autogeny, and genetics in Moroccan Culex pipiens populations. Parasites & Vectors 15, 405
5. Haba Y*, McBride CS*. (2022) Origin and status of Culex pipiens mosquito ecotypes. Current Biology 32:237–246
4. Haba Y*, Kutsukake N*. (2019) A multivariate phylogenetic comparative method incorporating a flexible function between discrete and continuous traits. Evolutionary Ecology 33:751
3. Haba Y*+, Herbert R+, Yang L+. (2019) An undescribed relationship between the knobthorn tree (Senegalia nigrescens), ants, and a lac scale insect in South Africa. African Journal of Ecology 2019:00:1-4
2. Haba Y & Kutsukake N. (2018) Social behavior in vertebrates. In Encyclopedia of Zoology, 1st Ed. Tokyo, Japan. Maruzen. (Book chapter in Japanese)
1. Baker Z+, Schumer M+, Haba Y, Holland C, Rosenthal GG, Przeworski M. (2017) Repeated losses of PRDM9-directed recombination despite the conservation of PRDM9 across vertebrates. eLife 6:e24133
CV | Publications | 略歴(JP)