This post is funded by a Leverhulme Trust research grant focused on the evolution of cranial sutures through the synapsid to mammal transition. The mammal skull performs numerous critical functions, from prey capture and feeding to protecting the brain to fighting. These functions impose enormous pressures which are buffered by the skull's shock absorbers: cranial sutures. These highly variable joints between skull bones are intimately linked with ecology and development, but their complex 3D anatomy makes them tricky to capture using traditional methods. As a result, we know almost nothing about their evolution. Bridging imaging, machine learning, cranial function and evolution, this project will reconstruct suture evolution and its role in one of the most important events in the history of life: the rise of mammals. This post will be based in the Goswami Lab within the Science Group at the Natural History Museum in London, with project collaborators based at London South Bank University, the University of Liverpool, the Field Museum of Natural History, and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
The successful applicant for this post will be responsible for developing and analysing a 3D dataset of suture morphology spanning extant mammals and their extinct relatives back to the earliest synapsids. Working with another project PDRA who is developing machine learning and computer vision tools for the automated extraction of cranial suture morphology from 3D meshes, the successful applicant will lead delivery of the biological and evolutionary aspects of this project, including expanding an existing 3D scan dataset spanning hundreds of living and extinct synapsid (including mammal) species, continuing development of a training dataset for the AI pipeline by annotating sutures on 3D scans, and conducting phylogenetic comparative and macroevolutionary analyses of suture evolution through time, as it relates to key innovations in mammal evolution and diversification.
The successful applicant will be expected to travel to international collections to build the 3D dataset, work closely with all project team members and collaborators, including organising project meetings, and lead on scientific publications and conference presentations describing the evolutionary analyses, as well as promoting the project at various outreach events at the NHM and outside the museum as the opportunity arises. There will be opportunities for supervising students and for developing independent collaborations, as part of supporting career development of the successful candidate. We provide a friendly, flexible, and collaborative environment to accommodate and support diverse circumstances, backgrounds, and needs.
About you
The successful candidate will have a PhD in Evolutionary Biology or related subject, either completed or submitted by the time of starting this position. You should have familiarity with mammal evolution and cranial anatomy and experience with 3D data and models, morphometrics, and phylogenetic comparative analysis in R. You should be willing to travel to work with collaborators and collect data in international institutions. You should have a track record of presenting research at conferences and publishing in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrating strong communication skills. You will have the ability to work independently, but also as part of a team, including contributing to wider lab activities and discussions. You must demonstrate ability to complete a research project and be eager to lead research in new areas and with new methods. International applicants welcome, and funds are available to support visa costs and NHS surcharge.
How to apply
How to apply
If that sounds like you, please apply online on the Natural History Museum's careers portal, at https://careers.nhm.ac.uk/ . Please include a full curriculum vitae and cover letter detailing your interest
and relevant experience.
Closing date: 9am, March 3
Interviews expected w/c March 13
For further information and any queries, please contact: Prof. Anjali Goswami, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD UK; a.goswami@nhm.ac.uk; goswamilab.com
and relevant experience.
Closing date: 9am, March 3
Interviews expected w/c March 13
For further information and any queries, please contact: Prof. Anjali Goswami, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD UK; a.goswami@nhm.ac.uk; goswamilab.com
