Scaloposaurus
Digital Imaging
KATRINA JONES
PALEONTOLOGIST | MORPHOLOGIST | ANATOMIST
I am a Research Associate in the Stephanie Pierce lab at Harvard University interested in the anatomy and evolution of the mammal skeleton, particularly the vertebral column. I am currently undertaking a collaborative NSF-funded project investigating the evolution of the spine in non-mammalian synapsids and basal mammals. We are using comparative anatomy, ex vivo experiments and digital modeling techniques to understand the function of the backbone in the forerunners to mammals, and the evolutionary origin of mammalian locomotor patterns.
Education
2014
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2008
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2007
Ph.D. Functional Anatomy and Evolution
Johns Hopkins University
Allometry of the thoracolumbar region in running mammals
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MSc Earth Sciences
Cambridge University
Morphometric Analysis of Cranial Morphology in Pinnipeds (Mammalia, Carnivora)
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BA Earth Sciences
Cambridge University
Grants & Awards
2017
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2014
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2013
2013
2013
AAA Postdoctoral Fellowship
American Association of Anatomists
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Alfred Sherwood Romer Prize
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
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Grant-in-aid of research
American Society of Mammalogists
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Theodore Roosevelt Grant
American Museum of Natural History
Grant-in-aid of research
Sigma-Xi
LATEST NEWS
Nature Comms paper
New paper describes the evolution of mammalian axial complexity. Image: A. Neander.Axial Symposium
I participated in an axial evolution symposium at the International Congress on Vertebrate Morphology in PragueSeminar at EEB Brown
I was invited to speak at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Brown UniversityConcord Field Station Seminar
I gave a research talk at the CFS, the experimental biomechanics center at HarvardTalk at NEOMED
I was invited to speak at Northeast Ohio Medical University, and meet the infamous college mascot, the walking whale!BMC Evolutionary Biology paper
Recent paper describes impact of adaptation and constraint on mammal axial skeleton using GMMScience paper
Study reveals the evolutionary steps behind the origin of the regionalized mammal backbone. Image: April NeanderFieldwork in Nova Scotia
Article describing exciting finds from Nova Scotia this year!SVP Calgary
I presented new research on geometric morphometrics of non-mammalian synapsid vertebraeAAA Postdoctoral Fellowship
I am the recipient of the 2017 AAA postdoc fellowship, which will support my research on form and function in the vertebral columnPaper in JEB
New paper clarifies armadillo vertebral biomechanicsJVP paper
JVP short communication describes evolution of accessory articulations in the lumbar region of perissodactylsUniversity of Wits, South Africa
We completed a successful data collection trip to South Africa, visiting the South African Museum and Wits, and CT scanning several interesting synapsids!ICVM talk
I gave a talk on axial regionalization in synapsidsCSZ Symposium
I was part of an awesome symposium at the Canadian Society of Zoologists in London, OntarioShow More
