David’s research focuses on the genetic underpinnings of morphological and behavioral change. Research in his lab takes a developmental genetic approach to investigating phenotypic evolution, focusing on a diverse assemblage of insect species. Recently there has been intense debate within the evolution community about the relative importance of cis-regulatory vs. coding sequence change for phenotypic evolution. In 2008 David, along with Virginie Orgogozo, published a groundbreaking paper that provided a theoretical framework for predicting the genetic locus of evolutionary change for specific cases of phenotypic evolution [1]. David Stern’s work has appeared in both Science Magazine and Nature, along with Evolution, Evolution & Development, Genetics, and PLoS Biology, among other premiere journals.