- Professor in Evolutionary Biology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University
I am an evolutionary biologist with particular interest in understanding how vertebrate animals adapt to the environment. My most long-standing interest is the evolution of marsupial mammals, such as kangaroos, wombats and koalas. I am particularly focused on trying to understand how the unusual birth mode of marsupials - with tiny embryo-like newborns - affects their ability to adapt to diverse environmental conditions. However, I also love working on questions of how adaptation determines the shape of vertebrates in general. My favourite research techniques are the use of virtual three-dimensional reconstructions of animal skeletal shape, and using the R statistical language to quantify patterns of shape variation.
Experience
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2026–presentProfessor, Flinders University
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2020–2026Associate professor, Flinders University
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2015–2020Senior Lecturer, University of Queensland
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2011–2015Lecturer, University of Queensland
Education
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2008University of New South Wales, PhD/Evolutionary Biology
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2003Eberhard-Karls University, Tuebingen (Germany), Diplom (honours equivalent)
Contact Vera for
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- Location: Adelaide, Australia
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