Mihaela Pavlicev serves as a Professor in the Department of Evolutionary Biology within the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Vienna. Her research program bridges evolutionary theory, developmental biology, and genomics to investigate fundamental questions about mammalian reproduction and phenotypic evolution. Her primary research interests focus on: Evolutionary developmental mechanisms underlying pregnancy Genomic innovations at the fetal-maternal interface Pleiotropy and evolvability in complex traits Comparative analysis of reproductive systems across mammals Evolutionary trade-offs in pelvic morphology and childbirth Analysis of her recent publication trajectory (2023-2025) reveals a concentrated effort to decode cellular and molecular innovations in mammalian pregnancy through single-cell genomics and cross-species comparisons. Her work consistently challenges established paradigms, such as demonstrating that uterine receptivity mechanisms predate placental mammals and re-evaluating the obstetrical dilemma in human evolution. Key methodological approaches include comparative transcriptomics, quantitative genetics, and theoretical modeling of evolutionary processes. Dr. Pavlicev leads significant research initiatives including: Evolutionary trade-offs in the human and mammalian pelvis (2023-2026, active) Evolution of the mammalian maternal-fetal cell-communication (2020-2024, completed) She actively mentors students and postdoctoral researchers while maintaining extensive international collaborations, particularly with the Wagner lab. Her advisory role extends through co-authorship on numerous publications and supervision of research projects focused on evolutionary genomics and reproductive biology. Her laboratory employs cutting-edge single-cell genomic techniques to investigate cell type evolution across mammalian species, with particular emphasis on decidual stromal cells and fetal-maternal signaling networks. Current work integrates computational approaches to model evolutionary trajectories of reproductive traits while examining clinical implications for pregnancy disorders.










