The Luo Lab: University of Chicago

Zhe-Xi Luo
Professor
Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy
The College of The University of Chicago
Committee On Evolutionary Biology
Office: Anatomy 306
1027 E. 57th St, The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL 60637
Ph: (773) 702-7816 | Fax: (773) 702-0037
CV | Faculty Page | E-mail

Biography

Zhe-Xi Luo is a paleontologist with a research interest in the evolutionary biology of vertebrates. By studying mammal fossils of the Mesozoic - the age of dinosaurs - Luo's work seeks to decipher the origins of mammalian biological adaptations, evolutionary relationship of major lineages, their ecological diversification, and their developmental patterns. In his fieldwork to search for dinosaurs and fossil mammals, he works in many parts of United States and China. He studies the fossils that help to shed light on the earliest mammalian evolution and diversification. Luo also studies the evolution of whales.

Luo and his international team of scientists have made discoveries of many early fossil mammals including Hadrocodium (the "paper clip" mammal from the Early Jurassic), Castorocauda (the earliest known swimming mammal), Juramaia (the earliest known fossil of the eutherian lineage), and Sinodelphys (the earliest known member of the metatherian lineage). He was a co-author for Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs, a major book on early mammal evolution.

From 1996 to 2012, Luo was a Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, where he also served as Associate Director of Science of the Museum from 2004 to 2012. At the Carnegie Museum, he was the curator for the 1998 exhibit on "China's Feathered Dinosaurs" and a member of the museum team that built Carnegie's permanent exhibit "Dinosaurs In Their Time."

Professor Zhe-Xi Luo was a recipient of the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (USA), and the Humboldt Research Award for Senior Scientists from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany).

Dr. Luo received his postdoctoral training at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, after earning his PhD in 1989 in Paleontology from the University of California, Berkeley and a BS in Geology, in 1982, from Nanjing University of China.

April Isch Neander
Scientific Illustrator, Lab Manager
Office: Anatomy 306
1027 E. 57th St, The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL 60637
Ph: (773) 702-4715
CV | Website | E-mail

Bio and Gallery

April I. Neander is a professional scientific illustrator and lab manager for the Luo Mammal Paleontology Lab at the University of Chicago. She began her work there in autumn of 2012, after earning her M.S. in Biomedical Visualization at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Since then, she has worked with Dr. Zhe-Xi Luo to create both technical and artistic illustrations for publication, as well as process CT data for research. To date, the most notable publications that April has worked on with Dr. Luo are those that named and introduced Megaconus, Rugosodon, Docofossor, and Agilodocodon.

April has been captivated by biology and anatomy since childhood and in 2010 she earned a B.A. in Biology from the University of Vermont. She combines this love with a talent for art, seeking to convey the intriguing history, structure, and beauty of life with her illustrations. Building on her experience with traditional media, April primarily uses digital media such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Autodesk Maya to create her illustrations, 3D reconstructions, and animations.

In addition to artistic renderings, April spends much of her time segmenting CT data for scientific visualization of detailed specimen anatomy. These CT assets are then used to aid research and to inform 2D and 3D skeletal and flesh reconstructions. With the new UChicago PaleoCT Lab, April’s role now includes overseeing and instructing students on the use of the scanner and the process of CT segmentation using software such as Mimics.

	Shoulder girdle of Dimetrodon a "mammal-like reptile." Illustrated for Prof. James Hopson.
	The teeth of Megaconus were reconstructed using models derived from CT scans. This clip shows how the fractures were corrected in the upper molars. The full video can be viewed in the supplemental information of the jounral article. Publication: Zhou, C.-F., Wu, S., Martin, T. and Z.-X. Luo. (2013). A Jurassic mammaliaform and the earliest mammalian evolutionary adaptations. Nature 500: 163-168 (doi:10.1038/nature12429).
	Life reconstruction of Rugosodon in it's nightime habitat. Publication: Yuan, C. -X., Ji, Q., Meng, Q. -J., Tabrum, A. R., & Luo, Z. -X. (2013). Earliest Evolution of Multituberculate Mammals Revealed by a New Jurassic Fossil. Science, 341(6147): 779-783 (doi: 10.1126/science.1237970 ).
	Flesh and skeletal reconstruction of Agilodocodon. Publication: Meng, Q. J., Ji, Q., Zhang, Y. G., Liu, D., Grossnickle, D. M., & Luo, Z. X. (2015). An arboreal docodont from the Jurassic and mammaliaform ecological diversification. Science, 347(6223), 764-768. (doi: 10.1126/science.1260879)
	Line illustration of teeth and jaw of Docofossor. Publication: Luo, Z. X., Meng, Q. J., Ji, Q., Liu, D., Zhang, Y. G., & Neander, A. I. (2015). Evolutionary development in basal mammaliaforms as revealed by a docodontan. Science, 347(6223), 760-764. (doi: 10.1126/science.1260880)

	Past Postdoctoral Associates
	Julia Schultz Julia’s research interests focus on early mammalian evolution with emphasis on functional morphology of dentition and reconstruction of mastication patterns. She also works on the evolution of the mammalian middle and inner ear morphology using micro-computed tomography, 3D-reconstruction and virtual simulation. CV \| Publication List
	Bhart-Anjan Bhullar Research on Cynodont/Mammaliaform evolution and mammalian skull morphogenesis. CV \| Research Page

Robert Burroughs
Robert is interested in understanding various mechanisms by which macroevolution occurs. His research utilizes geometric morphometrics, molecular-based phylogeography, and experimental developmental biology to understand the mechanisms behind the evolution of rodent molars in the Cenozoic. In particular he works with muroid rodents. Robert also has an interest in functional morphology, biogeography, and phylogeny of testudinoid turtles.
CV | Research Page

Jacqueline Lungmus
Jackie Lungmus is a third year Phd student in the Luo lab. She received her Bachelors degree from the University of Washington in Paleobiology, and now is a student in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University Of Chicago. Jackie works on the macroevolutionary patterns of Permian synapsids, focusing primarily on the morphological disparity and functional diversity of their pectoral girdles.
CV

	Past Graduate Students
	David Grossnickle David is interested in early mammal evolution and vertebrate paleontology. Hi research employs comparative techniques such as morphometrics to examine macroevolutionary patterns and diets of Mesozoic mammals. He is particularly interested in teeth and jaws, as these fossils are especially abundant and ecologically informative. CV \| Research Page

Spencer K. Pevsner
Class of 2019
Spencer is interested in the evolutionary biology of mammals. Among his wide range of interests in paleobiology and evolution, he studies how (or to what extent) skeletal structures, especially the limb elements of marsupial mammals can be correlated with their locomotor modes and ecological adaptations. Using multivariate morphometrical analysis and CT visualization, Spencer aims to test ecomorphological patterns of extant mammals, and to further infer the evolutionary pattern of the fossil mammals. Spencer has been supported by U.of.C Metcalf Summer Intern Fellowship (2017), and the Ecology and Evolution undergraduate research fellowship from U.of.C Biological Sciences Collegiate Division (2018).

	Past Undergraduates
	James Wauer Class of 2017 James is interested in mammalian biodiversity and evolutionary history. He studies locomotor adaptations and skeletal morphometric patterns of extant mammals, and functional evolution of locomotion in mammalian history. He is interested in inference of locomotor modes and habits of fossil mammals. He aims to use multivariate morphometric analyses of a range of functional skeletal indices known to be informative for differentiating different locomotor modes of extant mammals, and to apply these to fossil mammals. This is an informative approach for understanding the functional evolution and paleoecology of fossil mammalian species, especially of from long-extinct clades without surviving extant phylogenetic relatives.
	Ben Sulser Class of 2016 Ben's research in the Luo lab focuses on the anatomical adaptations of the inner ear in echolocating bats. He is primarily interested in the bony canals created by the cochlear nerve and spiral ganglion, in particular those regions corresponding to the acoustic fovea. His work involves high-resolution CT scans and a quantitative comparison across taxa.
	Mark Juhn Class of 2016 Mark's undergraduate research project in the Luo Lab focuses on the function of the ankle (tarsal) bones of monotreme mammals. This project involves comparing ankle structures in extinct Mesozoic mammals, CT analysis, and animating bone movement to acheive a better understanding of the evolution of locomotor function of the early mammals.
	Samuel "Spiro" Sullivan Class of 2015
	Lawrence Wang Class of 2015
	Dawn Mitchell Class of 2014 Dawn Mitchell is a fourth-year undergraduate working toward a B.S. in Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago. Her main area of interest is vertebrate paleontology and she is currently looking into graduate programs to continue her studies. She is conducting research under the guidance of Professor Zhe-Xi Luo for an honors thesis on the shoulder girdles of early mammals. By using 3D imaging and animation software to examine CT data of fossil and extant mammals, Dawn hopes to gain insight into the functional morphology of the fossil mammals that she is working with.

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