Advisory Board and Editors Zoology
Karen Osborn
Midwater biologist by way of Western Washington University, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), University of California Berkeley, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Thiago Parente
Scientist in Public Health at the Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC, Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Scientific coordinator of the Institutional Bioinformatics Platform. CNPq Level 2 Research Productivity Scholar (Genetics). Permanent professor at the Graduate program on Systems and Computational Biology IOC, Fiocruz. Graduated in Biological Sciences - Genetics major - from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2006), with a Master's degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the IOC (2008) and PhD in Biophysics from UFRJ (2012). Through high performance technologies for DNA sequencing and computational data analysis, I investigate the effects of pollution on fauna, using fish as model organisms, and their responses and genetic adaptations to pollutants, especially those involved in the xenobiotic biotransformation system.
Stephanie E Pierce
Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.
Stephanie E. Pierce is a trained paleontologist, anatomist, functional morphologist and evolutionary biomechanist. She completed a BSc degree in paleontology at the University of Alberta, Canada, which included an honors thesis on the anatomy and evolution of hadrosaurian dinosaurs. Directly following this, Stephanie pursued a MSc degree by research in Systematics and Evolution at the University of Alberta studying the anatomy and evolutionary relationships of extinct marine lizards. Her love of vertebrate evolution brought her to the University of Bristol, UK where she embarked on a PhD degree which focused on assessing the interplay between skull shape variation and biomechanical performance in extant and extinct crocodiles. Since finishing her studies, Stephanie has focused her main efforts on examining and reconstructing the 3D anatomy and locomotion potential of early tetrapods (Devonian and Carboniferous) to test hypotheses of limbed movement across the water-land transition.
Xavier Pochon
Team Leader, Molecular Surveillance, Biosecurity Group, Cawthron Institute, New Zealand.
Associate Professor, Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
My research at the Cawthron Institute is highly applied and consist of developing multi-trophic molecular tools for environmental monitoring of marine industries (e.g. aquaculture farms, marine biosecurity in ports and marinas, and deep-sea exploration).
At the University of Auckland, I combine 'real-world' and 'blue-sky' research applications, including; i) investigating functional underpinnings of Symbiodiniaceae in coral reef ecosystems, ii) characterizing microbiomes in aquaculture and natural settings, iii) measuring eDNA and eRNA decay rates in marine invertebrates and vertebrates, iv) studying preferential settlement of marine invasive species associated with marine plastic debris, and v) exploring the diversity and dynamics of open-ocean plankton communities in the Pacific and beyond.
Mason Posner
Professor and former Chairperson of Biology and Toxicology at Ashland University in Ohio. My research focuses on the evolution, physiology and biochemistry of alpha crystallins, a group of small heat shock proteins that protect cells against stress and are implicated in numerous diseases such as lens cataracts, Parkinsons, Alzheimers and cancer. My undergraduate research students and I use the zebrafish and other fish species as models to investigate alpha crystallin function. Our work involves qPCR to measure gene expression, CRISPR gene editing, proteomics, transcriptomics, promoter analysis and histology.
My background is in marine biology, systematics, ecology, molecular biology, protein biochemistry and comparative visual physiology. I train undergraduate research assistants in my laboratory and prepare students for graduate and professional schools and work in industry.
Nikolay A Poyarkov
I am a herpetologist working on diverse aspects of taxonomy, phylogeny and biodiversity of Asian herpetofauna. I have graduated from the Department of Vertebrate Zoology of Lomonosov Moscow State University and finished my PhD on taxonomy and evolution of Asian salamanders (Hynobiidae) in 2010. Presently I am working in this department as an associate professor. My study is focused on a set of topics on evolutionary biology and taxonomy of Asian amphibians and reptiles, including molecular systematics, phylogeography, DNA-barcoding, distribution and taxonomy of certain groups of Asian herps.
Nicholas D Pyenson
Dr. Nicholas D. Pyenson is a research geologist and curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia. As a paleontologist, his scientific research focuses on the repeated and convergent evolution of marine life, including iconic lineages such as sea turtles, sea cows, and especially whales.
Claudio C Ramirez
I work on insect ecology focusing in plant-insect interactions from a perspective that addresses proximal (ecological) and distal (evolutionary) causes. This approach aims to contribute to the knowledge of the herbivory patterns observed in natural and productive systems. Regarding proximal causes, I have a particular interest in the behavioral mechanisms that insect uses to feed on host plants, this includes how they deal with plant defense (either in crops or native plants). In relation to distal causes, I am interested in the correlation or experimental association between traits and reproductive outputs over generations. I have been studying hemipteran insects of the family Aphididae, which constitute important crop pests in Chile. Aphids are the group of insects that I have study the most. That are a good model to address fundamental questions in biology and also are a real problem for plant production. I do also enjoy to contribute with ideas aimed to reduce the use of pesticides in agroecosystems. The relationship between agrecosystem and natural areas are also an area that I intend to explore.
Naureen Rana
I am Assistant Professor at the University of Agriculture, Pakistan. My research currently focuses on the diversity of arthropods, particularly insects in different agroecological zones. I am also interested for the monitoring of wildlife and their conservational aspects. I am interested in the conservation of insects and the ecological balance that insects impose on the ecosystem. I also have a lot of experience in agricultural entomology as well as studying different landscapes. In addition to this I have documented the insects of different agricultural cropland of Punjab Pakistan.
James Davis Reimer
James Davis Reimer's research focuses on the biodiversity of understudied marine invertebrate groups (so-called "minor taxa"), primarily benthic cnidarians including zoantharians and their endosymbionts, as well as octocorals, from shallow tropical coral reefs to the deep sea. Recent research has also examined the impact of coastal development on marine diversity and ecosystems. Since 2007, he has been based at the University of the Ryukyus, where he is now a professor.
In 2015, he was awarded the Okinawa Research Prize for science contributing to the well-being and understanding of the Ryukyu Islands, and in 2021, he was awarded the Narishige Prize by the Zoological Society of Japan in recognition of his unique research output.
John M Ringo
Professor Emeritus of Biology, University of Maine. Past Associate Editor, Behavior Genetics and past Associate Editor, Evolution.
Tony Robillard
Professor at Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. Curator of insect collections and sound library. Scientific head of the edition service of MNHN. My research focusses on the diversity of communication systems in orthopteran insects in space and time. I use multidisciplinary approaches combining phylogenetics, biogeography, taxonomy, bioacoustics, biomechanics, behavioral studies and data obtained both in the lab and in the field.