Paleobiology Faculty

We focus on understanding the nature and interplay of the evolutionary, ecological, and physical environmental forces that have shaped the history of life on geological timescales.

Within OEB, we address many aspects of paleobiology, covering all major groups of life, from the deep Precambrian to our own geologically recent past. We employ a wide range of tools, including primary field-work, functional morphology, phylogenetics, isotopic analysis, and theoretical approaches.

Andrew H. Knoll

Andrew H. Knoll

  • Fisher Professor of Natural History
  • Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • Curator of the Paleobotanical Collections in the Harvard University Herbaria

aknoll@oeb.harvard.edu
Knoll Group

Evolution Faculty Ecology Faculty Biodiversity & Systematics Faculty Paleobiology Faculty

Evolution of life, evolution of Earth surface environments, and the relationships between the two, Archean and Proterozoic paleontology and biogeochemistry

Javier Ortega-Hernandez

Javier Ortega-Hernández

  • Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
  • Curator of Invertebrate Zoology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology

jortegahernandez@fas.harvard.edu
Ortega-Hernandez Group

Evolution Faculty Evolutionary Developmental Biology Faculty Biodiversity & Systematics Faculty Paleobiology Faculty

Evolution, phylogeny and developmental paleobiology of Paleozoic invertebrates, particularly (eu)arthropods and their close relatives. Interested on the origin of major animal groups during the Cambrian Explosion and the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, as informed by exceptionally preserved fossils.

Stephanie E. Pierce

Stephanie E. Pierce

  • Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
  • Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology

spierce@oeb.harvard.edu
Stephanie Pierce Lab

Evolution Faculty Behavior Faculty Biomechanics Faculty Paleobiology Faculty

Assessing the link between form and function of the vertebrate skeletal system – especially with respect to muscle/skeletal interactions during feeding and locomotor behaviours in modern and extinct animals