Bat Development Opossum Development

Our research

Without an understanding of development, we cannot fully understand life on Earth.

An animal’s form is the end product of many interacting developmental processes. Variation in these processes allows mammals to adapt to changing environments but can also generate malformations, including in humans. Developmental variation thus presents a unifying concept for evolutionary biology and human medicine. Our primary research goals are to understand how developmental variation interacts with environmental factors to foster new adaptations in mammals, with implications for human health.

 
 
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 Our research themes

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Evo-devo

of form

We study developmental processes that create new forms across the animal kingdom, and the degree to which these processes contribute to evolution.

Evolutionary radiations

We explore biological processes that allow mammalian species to diversify in response to environmental conditions.

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Human

Health

We use mammals with unique traits as model species to explore the genomic and developmental basis of human anatomy, physiology, longevity, and health.

Explore some of our research projects

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Establishing the developmental rules that shape the evolution of mammal form

We explore why certain mammalian forms have never evolved, while others have evolved again and again. We investigate the structure, character, and dynamics of mammalian development and evolution.

Funding: NSF IOS 2017803, NSF IOS 1257873, National Geographic Society, NIH HD050042-01

read a paper
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Understanding evolutionary radiations in bats

We help untangle the biological forces (i.e. genomic, anatomical, and ecological) that help bats adapt to their changing environment. We are researching adaptations in many systems, including sensory systems, teeth, skeletons, and wing membranes.

Funding: NSF IOS 2017803, NSF IOS 1257873, NSF DEB 1442142, National Geographic Society, NIH HD050042-01

read a paper
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Use of natural mammalian diversity to study issues relevant to human health

We use “weird” mammal species, including the short-tailed opossum and bats, as model systems. We use these natural mutants to study the links between development and biological aging and other drivers of biological aging in long-lived mammals.

Funding: NIH OD OD022988, NIH HD050042-01

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Featured Publications

Featured Publications
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Evidence of five digits in embryonic horses and developmental stabilization of tetrapod digit number.

Nature

Nature

Patterning and post-patterning modes of evolutionary digit loss in mammals.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

A new developmental mechanism for the separation of the mammalian middle ear ossicles from the reptilian jaw joint.

PLOS Genetics

PLOS Genetics

The relationship between gene network structure and expression variation among individuals and species.

Elife

Elife

Multifactorial processes underlie parallel opsin loss in neotropical bats

 

With our work, we aim to:

 
 

o1.

reintroduce the study of development into evolutionary biology

Historically, embryology and development were rich fields of study that heavily factored into early evolutionary theory. However, with the modern synthesis of the 1930’s and 40’s, development was largely extracted from evolutionary theory. Our work, and that of many many others, is helping to reunite the fields of development and evolutionary biology.

02.

grow the field of evolutionary developmental biology into a powerful tool

Currently, evolutionary developmental biology is a field focused on basic, comparative developmental biology (essentially regular developmental biology just in an organism other than a fly, mouse, worm, etc). But an understanding of evo-devo at a larger scale is incredibly valuable, where developmental biology can help explain the history of life on earth.

03.

illustrate the importance of studying of non-traditional systems

Through our research, we aim to illustrate that there are important insights that can be gained by study of non-traditional model systems that cannot be achieved when only single species or clades are studied.