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Evolution@Vanderbilt

Gianni Castiglione

Gianni Castiglione stands in a lab at Vanderbilt University surrounded by scientific equipment, including pipettes, a centrifuge, and ice buckets. He wears glasses and a light blue button-down shirt, smiling slightly with one hand at his side. A caption in a black box reads: “New research from the Castiglione Lab shows how one rare mutation supercharged equine energy.†The Evolutionary Studies Initiative logo is in the top right corner, and a purple border outlines the image.

Castiglione Lab Discover Horses Run Faster by Ignoring an Ancient Mutation that Says ‘Stop’

Mar. 27, 2025 51ÎÛÂþ—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Evolution often makes a deal with the devil, creating challenges for treating human disease. By mass, the muscles of thoroughbred racehorses consume more than twice the oxygen of elite human athletes. Yet, oxygen produces free radicals, which damage organ tissues. Balancing energy production with oxidative stress is also...

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Gianni stands at the lab bench

Vanderbilt Researcher Illuminates the Impact of Sunlight on Eye Function

Sep. 22, 2023—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator A recent study by assistant professor of biology and ophthalmology Gianni Castiglione illuminates our understanding of eye diseases like macular degeneration. The paper, Convergent evolution of dim light vision in owls and deep-diving whales, was published in “Current Biology.” Rhodopsin (RHO), a light-sensitive protein found in the rod...

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Researchers hope insights into low-light vision of Antarctic icefish can promote better understanding of human health

Feb. 27, 2023—By Tatum Lyles Flick, Evolutionary Studies communications volunteer consultant Though many researchers have considered how fish survive in extreme cold, using everything from antifreeze glycoproteins that protect cells to not producing hemoglobin, few have taken a molecular approach to evaluate how they are able to see in such conditions. In “Adaptation of Antarctic Icefish Vision...

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