The School of Biological Sciences Spring 2025 MBM Seminar Series presents Dr. Armita Manafzadeh

Abstract: Slithering, sprinting, swimming, soaring – virtually all vertebrate animal motion relies on the joints that hold our skeletons together. However, despite our ability to repair torn ACLs and replace faulty hips in humans, we have a surprisingly poor understanding of how joints work at a basic level. Disentangling how the structure of joints relates to their function is essential to explaining the anatomical basis of adaptations, attributing functional diversity to differences in morphology versus behavioral plasticity, and anticipating how animals will move and migrate through risky and ever-changing environments. In this seminar, I will discuss how integrating methods and approaches from disparate fields like paleontology, computer animation, and cartography empowers us to illuminate (1) how joints work and (2) where they come from, both developmentally and evolutionarily. In the process, I will share explorations of joint form and function from across the vertebrate body plan (from skulls to toes) and phylogenetic tree (from sharks to humans).