My current research focuses on using extremely well preserved fossils from South China and Mongolia to inform on the developmental evolution of animal bodyplans. Using this we can help to constrain the fossil record and molecular clocks. A key to my work is being able to decipher between original biological features and those formed through diagenesis.
The first project of my PhD focuses on the developmental biology of Megaclonophycus from Weng'an and using fossil data to inform on the metazoan affinity debate that has long surrounded these fossils as well as interpreting a sequence of development between Megasphaera, Parapandorina and Megaclonophycus.
My second project comprises of a comparitive study between the Weng'an Megaclonophycus and the animal embryos from Kuanchuanpu informing on their morphological characteristics and taphonomical similaries or differences. My final two projects are focused on bilaterian larvae from the Salanygol formation of Mongolia hoping to determine their phylogenetic affinity and continue to inform on molecular clock dating.
I come from a background in Geology and Petroleum Geology and previous work from my undergraduate dissertation has involved SEM-imaging, XRF-scanning and fieldwork trying to understand the factors involved in the preservation of permian reptile footprints in the Hopeman Sandstone of North-East Scotland.