Sara Miller

Sara Miller is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences. She leads the Social Insect Diversity Lab, focusing on the interplay between genomics, behavior, and ecology in shaping biological diversity.

Her research primarily investigates primitively eusocial Polistes paper wasps, examining speciation drivers, social behavior's impact on diversification rates, and biodiversity comparisons between social and solitary insects. Methodologies include genome assembly, population genetics, museum collections, and behavioral experiments.

• 2025: Evolution of cognition in social insects
• 2025: Genomic architecture and phylogeny
• 2023: Cooperation and recognition mechanisms
• 2023: Sex-linked genetic variation
• 2022: Polistes genome assemblies
• 2021: Environmental genomics and behavior
• 2020: Population structure and coevolution

The Social Insect Diversity Lab serves as a hub for exploring social insect evolution through modern genomic and ecological approaches. Dr. Miller's work bridges molecular biology with macroevolutionary questions, emphasizing interdisciplinary research across biological scales.