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Dr Martin Smith, SFHEA
Contact Dr Martin Smith (email at martin.smith@durham.ac.uk)
Biography
2015—present: Assistant Professor in Palaeontology, Durham University
2012—2015: Junior Research Fellow, Clare College, University of Cambridge
2012: PhD, University of Toronto
2008: MA & MSc, Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
Research interests
I am interested in the origins of the modern animal groups. My work includes the study of unusual organisms from Burgess Shale-type deposits and their microscopic counterparts, the Small Carbonaceous Fossils. I also have an interest in the preservation of these remarkable fossils, and the mathematical techniques used to reconstruct evolutionary history from palaeontological evidence.
Research opportunities
Fully funded postdoctoral opportunities will soon be available through a Leverhulme Trust grant.
I am currently inviting proposals for postgraduate research projects in palaeobiology and phylogenetic methods (Masters by Research or PhD). Please get in touch for more information.
Undergraduate research projects are also available for Durham and non-Durham students. Palaeontological Association bursaries may be of interest to potential applicants.
Online profiles
Research Groups
Department of Earth Sciences
Selected Publications
Journal Article
- Smith, M.R. (2020). Information theoretic Generalized Robinson-Foulds metrics for comparing phylogenetic trees. Bioinformatics 36(20): 5007-5013.
- Brazeau, M. D., Guillerme, T. & Smith, M. R. (2019). An algorithm for morphological phylogenetic analysis with inapplicable data. Systematic Biology 68(4): 619-631.
- Smith, M.R. (2019). Bayesian and parsimony approaches reconstruct informative trees from simulated morphological datasets. Biology Letters 15(2): 20180632.
- Moysiuk, J., Smith, M.R. & Caron, J.-B. (2017). Hyoliths are Palaeozoic lophophorates. Nature 541: 394-397.
- Smith, M.R. (2016). Cord-forming Palaeozoic fungi in terrestrial assemblages. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 180(4): 452-460.
- Smith, M.R. & Caron, J.-B. (2015). Hallucigenia’s head and the pharyngeal armature of early ecdysozoans. Nature 523(7558): 75-78.
- Smith, M.R. & Ortega-Hernández, J. (2014). Hallucigenia’s onychophoran-like claws and the case for Tactopoda. Nature 514(7522): 363-366.
- Smith, M.R. & Caron, J.-B. (2010). Primitive soft-bodied cephalopods from the Cambrian. Nature 465(7297): 469–472.
Media Contacts
Available for media contact about:
- Earth Sciences: Palaeontology
- Ecosystems: Palaeoecosystems
- The Earth: Animals: Palaeobiology
- The Earth: Plants: Palaeobotanny
Supervises
Selected Grants
- 2020: A fizzle or a bang: How fast was the Cambrian 'explosion'? (£365499.00 from Leverhulme Trust)
Teaching Areas
Palaeobiology
Understanding Earth Sciences
- Fieldwork (Geological)
- Sedimentary Environments and Palaeoecology