History-Making Discovery

Shaihuludia shurikeni.

It’s not a character in Star Wars. No, it’s not a greeting heard on Star Trek.

It’s the name of a 500-million-year-old sea worm species discovered by Rhiannon LaVine, a data scientist at Evozyne, who is also an evolutionary biologist.   

While exploring the Spence Shale Lagerstätte site in northern Utah, LaVine unearthed this never-before-seen sea worm fossil and had the honor of naming the species and genus. Shaihuludia was inspired by the name of the sandworms—Shai-Hulud—in the “Dune” novels. Shurikeni is a latinized form of the Japanese word for a “throwing star” and represents the blade-like bristles of the sea worm.

(Seriously, it’s not every day that you meet someone who finds and names a new species.)

Seismic Career Shift

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a Bachelor of Science in Geology, LaVine completed her PhD in Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, where she studied evolutionary trajectories and patterns in deep time.  She completed a post-doctoral program in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas.

LaVine dabbled in the world of academia as a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, but quickly realized she yearned for more.   

“I wanted to make an impact beyond what I can do within the walls of higher education,” said LaVine. “I love teaching, but you are sort of stifled on how much you can actually do in terms of making an impact on the world.”

Digging into Data

Landing at Evozyne, LaVine found herself immersed in a team of like-minded individuals dedicated to AI innovation. In her role as data scientist, LaVine is responsible for ensuring high-quality input data is presented for the development of novel protein sequences.

“Everyone I work with is brilliant,” said LaVine. “It’s cool being in a space where we are all working towards a common goal—to make a positive impact on the world—and the people I am working with are capable of doing it.”

Beyond the Lab

Outside of work, LaVine channels her creative energy into music, playing bass and performing vocals in a band named Chaotic Neutral. She enjoys exploring Chicago's vibrant restaurant scene and curling at the Chicago Curling Club. While many of her vacations have been spent at a dig site, this October she’s celebrating her five-year-wedding anniversary in Iceland.

Among the remaining items in her bucket list, LaVine hopes to have Greg Graffin, fellow evolutionary biologist and lead singer of Bad Religion, sign her dissertation.

Anyone have a contact?