Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Biology

Curator, University of California Museum of Paleontology

I am an Early Career Provost Fellow at the University of Texas with ties to the American Museum of Natural History and the University of Washington. I am currently a Visiting Scholar with the FAVE lab working on our new NSF-funded project to disentangle the genetic, biomechanical, and deep-time factors underlying mammalian skeletal diversity. Learn more about my research at chrisjlaw.com.

Narimane is a Belgian American Educational Foundation Postdoctoral Scholar in the FAVE Lab. She is working on the functional morphological evolution of cat-like carnivores, focusing on skull and dental biomechanics. She received her PhD from the Université de Liège in 2023.

Adolfo is a Postdoctoral Visiting Scholar from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where he is currently a postdoctoral scientist with Xiaoming Wang. Adolfo is visiting the FAVE Lab to work with Jack on an NSF-funded Great American Biotic Interchange project, specifically looking at small mammal faunal evolution in central México.

Alejandro (Alex) is a collaborator and visiting postdoctoral scientist from the University of  Málaga, where he teaches in evolutionary biology. Alex is interested in functional morphological signatures of hibernation in mammals, particularly bears and Pleistocene megafauna. He is working to develop an integrated framework to study mammalian diapause using finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, and mechanical experiments.

I am a fourth year PhD candidate at UC Berkeley and affiliate of the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ). I am broadly interested in evolutionary biomechanics and functional morphology of vertebrates. My dissertation focuses on how the carnivoran skeleton has evolved for prey acquisition and processing. Prior to working in the FAVE lab I received my B.S in Geology and Biology from Kutztown University, and my M.S. in Geosciences with a concentration in Paleontology from East Tennessee State University.  

I am a PhD student in the Department of Integrative Biology in UC Berkeley. I am deeply interested in the evolution of vertebrates, functional morphology, morphometrics, systematic and paleontology. Currently, I am working out those subjects In FAVE Lab by studying the evolution of the jaw in the gnathostome clade. Along with research, two other activities in which I have become engaged are teaching and science outreach by means of articles, both have also been important for my professional development.

Celina Gilmore joined the Integrative Biology (IB) Ph.D. program in August 2020. Before joining IB, Celina served as a research assistant in the FAVE lab. In one of her projects, she applied quantitative methods to process computed tomography (CT) image data, build 3-D skull models, and simulate masticatory behavior to analyze the relationship between skull structure and function among carnivores. Her current research focuses on exploring shape differences in the vertebral column in mammals using geometric morphometric techniques. Celina is passionate about science outreach and plans on continuing her work with students at public elementary schools and high schools. 

Celina earned her BS in Biological Sciences from SUNY University at Buffalo in 2019. Before beginning graduate school, she worked in the medical field. (email: cag@berkeley.edu)

Joined FAVE Lab in December 2021. Jackie is currently a fifth year PhD student working on niche partitioning and morphometrics in fish populations living in dam-modified watersheds.

Hi, I'm Tara (she/they) and I'm a 5th year PhD candidate co-advised by Jack and by Leslea Hlusko (CENIEH) in the Department of Integrative Biology, affiliated with the UC Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ). My current biology research interests are centered around the evolution of birth and how teeth can capture moments of mammal life histories in the extant and fossil records. I'm also a biology education equity researcher, conducting an analysis of student perceptions of disability and accessibility in evolutionary biology courses, using qualitative and quantitative methods and a critical disability studies framework. Before coming to Cal I worked and volunteered at several natural history museums and field sites, led paleontology mitigation work, and I was a high school science teacher and school lab manager. Ongoing interests include the impact of field paleontology on students within a human dimensions framework; the preservation qualities of vertebrate trace fossils; and equity in STEM class and field settings. Feel welcome to contact me at tlepore -at- berkeley -dot- edu.

(Honorary FAVE Lab members)

(Honorary FAVE Lab member)

(Honorary FAVE Lab members)