Person Details
Trained in natural sciences, I completed a Master’s in Paleontology at the universities of Poitiers and Montpellier, as well as a Master’s in Education in Biology and Geology at the École Normale Supérieure of Lyon, France. I did my doctoral degree on the adaptation and phylogeny of the inner ear in extant and fossil primates at the Université de Poitiers, where I also taught Geology and Plant Biology for three years. In relation to these activities, I have participated to paleontological excavations in Myanmar, Greece and France. Since 2017, I joined the department of theoretical biology at the University of Vienna, Austria, to work on the evolutionary mechanisms underlying morphological variation from an empirical perspective, always rooted in a theoretical framework. My research at the KLI is focussed on the evolvability of the inner and middle ear from a macroevolutionary point of view, and its role in the adaptive radiation of mammals.
My work is at the crossroads of evolutionary biology, palaeontology and biological anthropology. I am also interested in the history of these disciplines and the relationships between science and society. In parallel to my research activities, I am active in diverse initiatives to promote equity, justice and democracy in research institutions and in the society. I am a board member of the Société d’Anthropologie de Paris, as well as a member of the editorial committee of its journal, the BMSAP.