Kathryn E. Mickle

Kathryn E. Mickle serves as Program Director for Pre-Medical Studies and Associate Professor of Biology within the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University's College of Life Sciences in Philadelphia.

Education:

• PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (2012)
• MS in Biology, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA (2005)
• BS in Biology, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA (2003)

Her primary research examines fossil lower actinopterygian fishes (palaeoniscoids) over 300 million years old, focusing on morphological reinterpretations of snout bones, description of new genera/species, and phylogenetic analyses to elucidate evolutionary relationships between extinct and living ray-finned fishes. To date, she has described six new genera and nine new species while co-authoring the authoritative Handbook of Paleoichthyology Volume 8A: Actinopterygii I. Her teaching centers on human anatomy through cadaver-based dissection courses and anatomy/physiology instruction for undergraduate and graduate students.

Awards:

• Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching (2019)

As Program Director for Pre-Medical Studies, she oversees curriculum development for aspiring medical students while maintaining active research in paleoichthyology. Her work bridges classical anatomical training with cutting-edge evolutionary analysis of ancient fish lineages.