RESEARCH INTERESTS

MAMMALIAN BRAIN EVOLUTION

Modeling macroevolutionary trends in the mammalian brain using phylogenetic comparative methods; Quantifying variation in neural structures across species; identifying evolutionary pathways that shape neuroanatomical variation; characterizing the 'evolvability' of neural traits, and identifying key shifts in brain organization.

phylogenetic comparative methods

Developing and implementing phylogenetic comparative methods that model evolutionary changes in neuroanatomical traits across time; using comparative methods to infer ancestral states and variable rates of change across individual lineages.

comparative neuroanatomy

Using cytoarchitectonics, molecular biology, and neuroimaging techniques in order to identify differences in neuronal morphology, connectivity, synaptic organization, neural plasticity, and protein expression between species; elucidating human susceptibility to neurodegerative diseases.