Lab Members

Edwin Dickinson | Primary Investigator

Edwin Dickinson is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary. His research explores the functional consequences of specific morphological phenotypes across vertebrates, combining comparative anatomical techniques with experimental organismal approaches. He received his PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) in 2019.

Ella Macpherson-Hess | Student Researcher

Ella is a third-year undergraduate student whose work to date focuses on describing anatomical variation within the primate forelimb, and exploring the potential ecomorphological drivers of differences in muscle size, shape, and strength across our Order.

Ayesha Gayle de Jesus | Student Researcher

Ayesha is a senior undergraduate student working on the anatomy of echolocation. Their research examines adaptations in the ears of extant bats reflect parameters of their vocal repertoire, and how body size and habitat type influence both echolocation behaviors and the corresponding anatomy of the ear.

Emily Beardsell | Student Researcher

Emily is a senior undergraduate student focused on musculoskeletal biomechanics. Her work examines the kinetics of locomotion, and how changes in gait alter the forces and pressure generated by the limbs. She also studies the accumulation and manifestation of ecological stress within the developing skeleton.

Naomi Loose | Student Researcher

Naomi is our newest lab member, working on ontogenetic changes to the primate masticatory system. This research will explore both soft- and hard-tissue changes to the feeding apparatus during development, and how these morphological differences might reflect age-related shifts in food processing strategies.