Principal Investigator
Mark D. Uhen, Ph.D.
Professor & Chair, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences
Affiliate, Department of Environmental Science and Policy
I study major evolutionary transitions, diversity, and the relationships of fossil organisms to Cenozoic climate change, focusing mainly on marine mammals, and most specifically on fossil cetaceans. Much of my work has focused on archaeocete cetaceans, stem cetaceans that gave rise to all modern whales, dolphins, and porpoises. My work has taken me all around the globe to collect fossils in Alaska, the Gulf Coast of the US, the Pacific Coast of the US, Peru, Egypt, and West Africa, among others. I am also the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Paleobiology Database, a global community project to database all of the fossil occurrences on the planet. There you can find all published occurrence of fossil marine mammals in one place, along with their associated geologic and environmental data. Click here if you are interested in joining the PBDB effort. Click on any of the buttons below for more data on my background and work.
Graduate Students
Nickolas Brand
Ph.D. Candidate, Environmental Science and Public Policy
Having always been interested in nature and fossil animals, pursuing a career in paleontology has been a dream come true for me. I began my education with a bachelor’s degree in Geology at Appalachian State University where I researched the Late Cretaceous Williams Fork Formation’s microvertebrate fauna, which included dinosaurs, sharks, and early mammals from Colorado. In 2018 I graduated from ASU and began a Master’s of Science in paleontology at East Tennessee State University. Once there, my work shifted much closer to the present (and closer to home) as I studied the comparative anatomy of fossil musk ox, and the history of Ice Age gravel deposits --- both from Saltville, Virginia. As I work towards earning my PhD as a part of the Uhen Lab at George Mason University, I hope to shed light on the evolution of baleen and how such a unique and fascinating structure arose in fossil whales.
Edward D. Medeiros
Ph.D. Student, Environmental Science and Public Policy
A wide variety of passions have pulled me all over the career map from ecological field work as a summer technician for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work in diagnostic microbiology as a hospital medical lab assistant during the height of a global pandemic. I love to talk all things science. As an undergraduate at the University of Maine I studied both zoology and international affairs and later ecology as a master’s student at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. I rediscovered my childhood passion for paleontology when given the opportunity to study fossil bats as an REU student at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. My primary area of research interest is in major vertebrate anatomical transitions associated with the colonization of new environments, an interest which led me to marine mammals. I am currently researching the evolutionary transition from terrestrial to obligate aquatic locomotion in Cetacea. When not pondering the mysteries of evolution I like to be outdoors hiking and tracking.
Alan B. Munro
M.S. Student, Earth Systems Science
Alan Munro is wrapping up a masters in Earth Systems Science, focusing on paleontology. He retired from a career in tax consulting in 2018 and switched back to his first avocation. He also volunteers in the Fossil Lab of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.
David A. Hoppe
M.S. Student, Earth Systems Science
My primary interests are in the evolution and functional morphology of cetaceans. I have always been fascinated by the idea of prehistoric life and all of the things we can learn about ancient animals by studying their fossil remains. I began collecting fossils in the Chesapeake Bay region as a hobby in 2017 and I instantly became hooked. I have since built a personal collection of tens of thousands of fossils, the majority of which are fossil shark teeth, primarily from the Miocene Epoch. My favorite fossils to find, however, are the bones and teeth of cetaceans. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Geology with a minor in Biology at James Madison University in 2023, completing an Honors Thesis which focused on quantifying ontogenetic changes in the skull of a kentriodontid odontocete from Calvert Cliffs, MD. I am now pursuing my Master’s Degree at George Mason University as a member of the Uhen Lab. While I do not yet have a topic selected for my thesis, I am particularly interested in the evolution of the odontocete dentition, and what we can discern about the animals’ behavior by studying the fossils of their teeth.
Alumni
Dr. Margot D. Nelson, Ph.D.
Margot is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Calvert Marine Museum
Margot is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Calvert Marine Museum
Abigail Glass, M.S.
Andrew Levy, M.S.
Matt Eberle, B.S.
Loren Petruny, M.S.
Joseph Robert Villari, M.S.
Dr. Advait M. Jukar, Ph.D.
Advait is currently a lecturer of paleontology in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona. You can find his website here.
Advait is currently a lecturer of paleontology in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona. You can find his website here.
Julian P. Jenkins, PBDB Programmer
Dr. Carlos M. Peredo, Ph.D.
Carlos is currently an assistant professor of biological sciences at Miami University. You can find Carlos' website here.
Carlos is currently an assistant professor of biological sciences at Miami University. You can find Carlos' website here.
Dr. Leonard Dewaele, Ph.D.
Leonard currently serves in the faculty of science in the geology department at L'Université de Liège.
Leonard currently serves in the faculty of science in the geology department at L'Université de Liège.