Nick Keiser, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, has been awarded a collaborative National Science Foundation grant from the Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics Program. Dr. Keiser will work alongside Dr. Timothy Colston from the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez to investigate how venom complexity – the combined diversity of venom toxins and venom-associated microbial communities – has evolved in association with three independent origins of sociality in spiders. This research expands the traditional view of venom evolution to encompass the functional role of venom-associated microbes across multiple scales: from individuals to social groups to populations to species. Congratulations, Nick!