Neil H. Shubin

Dr. Neil H. Shubin is the Senior Advisor to the President; Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy; and Dean of Academic Strategy at University of Chicago. Shubin researches the evolutionary origin of anatomical features of animals using a novel synthesis of paleontological and neontological data. His research integrates diverse temporal, phylogenetic, and structural scales in order to advance the field of evolutionary biology. He has conducted fieldwork in Greenland, China, Canada, much of North America and Africa. Shubin's research group uses the expeditionary research to supply new fossils and a paleoenvironmental context to understand the origin of faunas. The Shubin lab’s field data have led to new insights on the origin of major groups of vertebrates (mammals, frogs, crocodiles, tetrapods, and sarcopterygian fish). Shubin is particularly well-known for his discovery of Tiktaalik roseae, a fossil that has been dubbed the "missing link" between fish and land animals. Shubin also works extensively to understand the developmental biology and evolution of limbs. He uses his diverse fossil findings in combination with morphological, functional, and developmental studies to devise hypotheses on how anatomical transformations have occurred. Shubin in the recipient of numerous awards including the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship, the Marcus Singer Award, and Harvard-Danforth Award for Excellence in Teaching. His book, Your Inner Fish (2009), was the recipient of the Phi Beta Kappa Science Book Award, the Royal Society of London’s Best science Book Shortlist, and the Science Communication Award.  His scientific articles appear in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleobiology, as well as in Science and Nature.