معرفی
Jason J. Head serves as Professor of Vertebrate Evolution and Ecology and Curator in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, where he is an active member of the Vertebrate Palaeontology Group and currently accepts PhD student applications.
His research integrates two primary axes: (1) the evolution of modern tropical vertebrate clades and their environmental relationships during the Paleogene and Neogene epochs, and (2) the evolution of vertebrate body forms through regulatory genetic networks and developmental mechanisms. Focusing on reptiles for their ecological significance, dense fossil record, and morphological plasticity—including adaptations like limblessness and shell evolution—he combines skeletal anatomy from field and museum studies with molecular, environmental, and paleoclimate datasets. A newer dimension of his work applies ecometric trait data from fossil vertebrates to forecast biotic responses to anthropogenic climate change within taxon-free conservation paleobiology, involving international collaborations across Kenya, Ethiopia, Germany, Finland, France, and the United States.
Professor Head actively mentors PhD students through the Vertebrate Palaeontology Group, advancing both foundational evolutionary science and its applications for contemporary biodiversity conservation.
