Erik R. Seiffert

Erik R. Seiffert is Professor of Clinical Medical Education and Division Chief of Integrative Anatomic Sciences at the University of Southern California's Department of Cell and Neurobiology. His research focuses on mammalian evolution, Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of molecular and morphological data, and detection of long-term evolutionary patterns in mammalian anatomy.

Research interests include mammalian evolutionary biology, paleontology, comparative anatomy, primate origins, and evolutionary patterns in fossil records across Africa and South America. His work combines morphological analysis with computational phylogenetics to reconstruct mammalian evolutionary history.

Publications demonstrate extensive work in paleomammalogy, with recent articles examining primate evolution, cetacean life histories, and Oligocene mammalian extinctions. Research frequently utilizes fossil evidence from key African sites like the Fayum Depression and Turkana Basin.

Awards include the Robert W. Sussman Award for Scientific Contributions to Anthropology from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016).

Fieldwork has yielded significant fossil discoveries across Egypt, Kenya, and Oman, contributing to understanding of early primate diversification and mammalian responses to climate change during the Eocene-Oligocene transition.