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Hannah Bleecker
Hannah Bleecker
Research Technician
hrbleecker@uchicago.edu  

Hannah is a Research Technician in the Ross lab. After graduating from UChicago with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences (concentration in Ecology & Evolution), she spent the next several years working as a zookeeper in facilities around the country, obtaining her master’s degree as a Fulbright Scholar at the Royal Veterinary College in London, and training animal care technicians at the University of Washington. She has also headed a spectrophotometry project with museum specimens, as well as an animal behavior project with endangered crows. Now, she is excited to be working to expand our knowledge of the evolution of feeding biomechanics in mammals. She is particularly interested in delivering high-quality research while maintaining excellence in animal welfare.


Peishu Li
Peishu Li
PhD Student in Integrative Biology
peishu@uchicago.edu   Google Scholar   Research Gate  

Peishu is a second-year PhD student in the Luo lab and the Ross lab. He is broadly interested in the evolution, functional morphology and biomechanics of the mammalian feeding complex. For his dissertation research, Peishu focuses on the evolution and biomechanics of the hyoid apparatus and surrounding musculature in mammals. His research utilizes linear and geometric morphometrics, diceCT and the XROMM workflow to study the morphological disparity of hyoids in primates and other mammals, and how such disparity may translate to variation in 3D hyoid kinematics during chewing and swallowing. Peishu has previously conducted research on the dental topography of extinct South American stem platyrrhines, the skeletal anatomy of newborn ursids, and the igneous petrology of Hawaiian basalts.


Felippe B. Prado, DDS, PhD
Felippe B. Prado, DDS, PhD
fprado@uchicago.edu   LinkedIn   Facebook  

Dr. Prado graduated in Dentistry from the School of Dentistry in the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas in Brazil (2003). He received his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Biology and Oral Pathology, Anatomy Area, at Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas UNICAMP (2009 and 2010), and has expertise in Forensic Dentistry at Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, UNICAMP (2009). Dr. Prado did postdoctoral research in the Department of Organismal Biology And Anatomy University of Chicago in 2016. He is a Professor in the Department of Biosciences, Anatomy division, at Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, and Staff Scientist at Department of Organismal Biology And Anatomy University of Chicago, IL, USA.

His overall research goal is to understand tissue mechanobiology and bone and musculoskeletal head and neck biomechanics. He is also interested in understanding the musculoskeletal biomechanics and biological tissue changes in the face associated with changes caused by mastication, implants, and local or systemic conditions using different animal models such as rodents, nonhuman primates and humans. Dr. Prado’s goal is to expand and improve knowledge on bioengineering of human jaw function during distraction osteogenesis and fracture repair using finite-element models of humans and non-human primate jaws.In the near term, he is focused on improving knowledge about jaw and tongue kinematics using in vivo experiments and finite element modeling.


Kaleb Sellers, PhD
Kaleb Sellers, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
kalebsellers@uchicago.edu  

Kaleb is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Ross lab. His interests include comparative vertebrate anatomy and evolution, comparative functional morphology of the feeding system, and vertebrate paleontology. His postdoctoral work focuses on characterizing the basic and functional anatomy of the hyolingual apparatus across mammals with a focus on primates. Kaleb uses contrast-enhanced CT scanning, morphometrics, and engineering techniques to characterize muscle anatomy and assess muscle forces. For his dissertation research, Kaleb investigated the functional effects of skull flattening on the jaw muscles and joints in the lineage leading to crocodylians. He has also worked on projects investigating enamel thickness in various reptiles and collaborated on biomechanics projects in various non-avian dinosaurs and other reptiles.


Chelsie Snipes
Chelsie Snipes
csnipes@uchicago.edu   Research Gate  

Chelsie is a first year PhD student in the Ross and Luo labs. She is broadly interested in the evolution and biomechanics of the feeding and middle ear systems in vertebrates. For her dissertation research, she is investigating the evolution and kinematics of the hyolaryngeal system during feeding and vocalization in mammals. Her work will utilize geometric morphometrics, XROMM, and finite element modeling (FEM) techniques. Chelsie has previously conducted research on the function of the hyoid apparatus and middle ear in echolocating bats using traditional and contrast enhanced microCT data and acoustic modeling in ANSYS.


Georgina McKusick Voegele, PhD
Georgina McKusick Voegele, PhD
Lecturer and Anatomy Lab Manager
georgina@uchicago.edu  

Georgina is the Anatomy Lab Manager and Lecturer for the Human Body course. She facilitates education and research using human donors from the Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois and also the large collection of Ross Lab (Dept. of Organismal Biology and Anatomy) vertebrate specimens.

Georgina loves dissection and specializes in the comparative anatomy and evolution of the mammalian forelimb. Other interests include the evolution of vertebrate body wall layers, mammal pelvic anatomy, collecting and preserving vertebrate specimens, Paleocene/Eocene paleontology fieldwork, poultry, and plants.

Georgina was an Anthropology undergraduate student at University of Chicago (AB’03) and then completed her doctoral work at the Center for Functional Anatomy & Evolution at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (PhD’14). She taught the anatomical sciences at Dartmouth before returning to the University of Chicago in 2021.


Alec Wilken
Alec Wilken
PhD Student in Integrative Biology
atwilken@uchicago.edu  

Alec Wilken is a graduate student interested in vertebrate biomechanics and evolution. For his dissertation, Alec is investigating the evolution of the mammal jaw and the mammalian middle ear. Much of Alec’s work employs Finite Element Analysis (FEA), an engineering technique, to explore the biomechanical environment of the feeding apparatus, combining work from novel imaging techniques and in vivo data to construct robust biomechanical models. Alec has previously conducted research studying the evolution of kinetic, mobile skulls in lizards, birds, and non-avian dinosaurs and the burrowing adaptations of North American shrews.


Name Years Where are they now? Research
Robert Asher, PhD Senior Lecturer and Curator, University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge

PhD, Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University. Thesis Title: Phylogenetic relationships among tenrecoid insectivores. Graduated, Fall, 2000

Carrie Balcer 2014 - 2018
Kevin Brown Associate Director of Data Science at Bristol Myers Squibb
Mark Coleman, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Education, Western Atlantic University School of Medicine

PhD, Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University. Thesis Title: Middle and inner ear morphology and ecology. Graduated, 2007

Josh Coles 2009 - 2014
Ruchi Dharia, MD Emergency Medicine Specialist, Syosset, NY
McKenna C. Eastment, MD University of Washington Department of Medicine
Alison Eckhardt
Caylen Erger Veterinary School at University of Missouri

Characterization of the laryngeal adductor reflex in rhesus macaques. Undergraduate Honors Thesis, The College, University of Chicago, 2017

Kara Feilich, PhD Federal Government Consulting
Alexandre Freire, PhD Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas – UNICAMP

CNPq and Capes Fellow

Nicholas Gidmark, PhD Assistant Professor, Knox College
Michael C. Granatosky, PhD Assistant Professor of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology
Janaya Gripper
Margaret Hall, PhD Professor, Department of Anatomy, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona

PhD, Graduate Program in Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University. Thesis title: Eye and orbit size and shape in vertebrates. Graduated, 2005

Christopher P. Heesy, PhD Professor, Department of Anatomy, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona

PhD, Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University. Thesis title: The functions of the mammalian postorbital bar. (Co-advised with Dr. Brigitte Demes). Graduated, Fall, 2003

Liam Heins Application Developer at Ariadne Software
Jose Iriarte-Diaz, PhD Assistant Professor, University of the South, Sewannee
Rebecca Junod 2018 - 2019
Rebecca Kaiser, MD Dermatology Associates of Virginia
Nikki Kijak, MD Orthopaedic Surgery Resident at Uchicago Medicine
Myra F. Laird, PhD Assistant Professor of Clinical Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
J.D. Laurence-Chasen, PhD Computational scientist at Research Computing Center, University of Chicago

PhD, Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago. Thesis Title: Neuromechanics of the Primate Tongue During Feeding

Richard H. Madden, PhD Retired, Los Angeles California
Hyab Mehari-Abraha, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher at Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Fulbright Futures Fellow

Keith Metzger, PhD Assistant Dean of Medical Education, Professor of Medical Sciences, Department of Medical Sciences, Seton Hall University

PhD, Graduate Program in Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University. Thesis Title: The kinematics of intra-oral prey transport in lizards. Graduated, 2005 (Co-advised with Dr. Brigitte Demes)

Ali Nabavizadeh, PhD Assistant Professor of Veterinary Gross Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
Yuki Nakamura, PhD Niigata University
Selby Olson Graduate Student at University of Florida, Department of Natural History
Courtney Orsbon, MD, PhD Residency at University of Vermont, Department of Radiology

M.D., PhD, Pritzker School of Medicine and Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago. Thesis Title: Swallowing Biomechanics of the Macaca mulatta hyolingual apparatus. Graduated 2018

Dawn Paulsen 2002 - 2009
Ellen Platts Graduate Student at University of Maryland, College Park
Laura B. Porro, PhD Lecturer in Anatomy in the Centre for Integrative Anatomy in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at University College London
Yashesvini Ram, PhD Senior Scientist at Abbott Laboratories

PhD, Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago. Thesis Title: Coordination Between Muscles and the Sensorimotor Cortex During Orofacial Behaviors in Non-Human Primates. Graduated 2017

David A. Reed, PhD 2001 - 2004 Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, Chicago

PhD, Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago. Thesis Title: The Biomechanical Determinants of Phenotypic Variance in the Mandible of Alligator mississippiensis. Graduated 2011

Annie Rivera
Ana Cláudia Rossi, PhD

CNPq and Capes Fellow

Mateo Rull Research and Outreach Scientist and Co-Coordinator of Research Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Leadership-Alliance Fellow

Julia Schultz, Dr. rer. Nat. Research Assistant, Institut für Geowissenschaften, University of Bonn
Ellen Schulz-Kornas, PhD Head of the Research Laboratory, Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Periodontology, University of Leipzig
Kelsey Stilson, PhD Postdoc at Brown University

PhD, Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago. Thesis Title: The Kinematics and Neurofeedback of Mastication in Didelphis virginiana

Kazutaka Takahashi, PhD Senior Neurophysiologist and Data Scientist Precision Neuroscience
Treva Walsh
Ryan L. Washington
Katrina (Katie) Whitlow, PhD Assistant Professor in Biology, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame

PhD, Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago. Thesis Title: Biomechanics, evolution and modulation of suction feeding mechanisms in fishes