
Research in my lab focuses on the function and evolution
of the musculoskeletal system of vertebrates. We are
interested in the evolution of the skull and its relation
to feeding behaviour in dinosaurs, birds, crocodiles and
more recently, mammals, alongside other problems of form
and function in living and extinct animals. We apply
biomechanical and engineering analysis techniques such as
finite element analysis (FEA) to investigate at how
living and extinct animal skeletons function, and why
skeletons are shaped in a particular way. Some of our
current research documents how biomechanical functions
evolve through time, looking at how shape and function
change in relation to the origin of innovations such as
jaws and flight, species diversity and environmental
factors. We combine our functional analysis with
morphometric and statistical methods to elucidate
morphological and functional convergence. We have
exciting new collaborative projects on the functional
evolution of the mammalian jaw and the evolution of
feeding in early tetrapods during the water to land
transition.
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Interested
in joining the group? Drop me an email at the address
below.
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Palaeobiology and Biodiversity Research
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