PhD: Integrating Palaeontological Data in Phylogenetic Analysis – Developing a Principled Statistical Model for Morphological Evolution

Palaeontological data makes a unique contribution to our understanding of evolutionary history. The application of such data to biological questions is, however, hampered by the difficulty in integrating morphological data with modern, molecular-based analytical techniques.

This project will develop a new mathematical model of morphological evolution, which will allow data from fossil organisms to be interrogated with the same rigour applied to genetic sequences – leading to quantitative statistical tests of diverse hypotheses of biological relationship and evolutionary processes.

The project will deliver training in widely-used statistical techniques (Markov processes, Bayesian inference, applied phylogenetic methods) and programming frameworks (Java, R), alongside specialist training in morphological data analysis.