Professor Walter Salzburger is a leading evolutionary biologist that studies many core questions in our field. For instance, he studies the processes that underlie adaptation, innovation, speciation, and the evolution of genes and genomes during adaptive radiation and speciation. Most of his research is done using state-of-the-art genomic analyses of morphological traits and behavior in cichlid fishes and European alpine vertebrate species. He is also famous for his fantastic research presentations so this is something to look forward to.

Professor Mary Schweitzer is a world recognized paleontologist studying molecular preservation in fossils, the evolution of physiological strategies in dinosaurs, and the microbial influences on taphonomy in vertebrates, applying multiple methods that are commonly used to study biomolecules in living tissue. Much of her research has focused upon the identification and implications of cellular structures and proteins in T. rex and hadrosaur fossils > 68 million years old. Her talks are a combination of state-of-the-art analyses with stunning visual reconstructions of dinosaur life.