Research Interest Area: Physiology & Functional Morphology

The physiological function of an organ, appendage, tissue, or other body part dictates its form. SBS researchers study the physiology and functional morphology of animals spanning invertebrate and vertebrate organisms ranging from the biomechanics of locomotion and aggressive behavior in terrestrial vertebrates, to evolutionary transitions in the vertebrate cardiopulmonary system, to neural mechanisms of communication in vertebrates. Plant physiology is another focus of SBS researches who study how plants provide the fuel for almost all other forms of life on earth by using solar photons to turn water and CO2 into the organic molecules from which everything else is made.