The curatorial and research interests of the Museum staff are closely linked.
Our curators' research interests include systematics, ecology, evolution, and palaeontology. Molecular techniques and modern scanning methods are transforming the way we work.
Research areas
The University Museum of Zoology includes research programs that study major aspects of animal life. Current programs include:
Conservation Biology and Ecology
Deep Time Ecology
Vertebrate Palaeontology and Evolution
Director and Curators
Professor Rebecca Kilner, Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Director of the Museum of Zoology
Dr Robert Asher, Curator of Vertebrates
Dr Jason Head, Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology
Dr Daniel Field, Strickland Curator of Birds
Dr Javier Luque, Senior Research Associate (Non-insect Arthropods)
Dr Emily Mitchell, Curator of Invertebrates incorporating the Watson Curator of Malacology
Dr Edgar Turner, Curator of Insects
Emeriti and Affiliated Researchers
Dr Michael Brooke, Strickland Curator of Birds (Emeritus)
Dr William Foster (Insects)
Dr Adrian Friday (Vertebrates)
Dr Stephen Gaunt (Evolutionary Developmental Biology)
Dr Richard Preece, Curator of Molluscs (Emeritus)
Dr Timothy Smithson (Vertebrate Palaeontology)
The collections are also used by other research workers in the Department of Zoology and other departments within the University including Plant Sciences, Genetics, Physiology, Biological Anthropology, Archaeology, Earth Sciences, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Scott Polar Research Institute and the Veterinary School.
Academic researchers from institutions worldwide are welcomed to the Museum each year.
