Evolutionary Developmental Biology

Scott F. Gilbert is the Howard A. Schneiderman Professor of Biology (emeritus) at Swarthmore College, where he has taught developmental genetics, embryology, and the history and critiques of biology. He is also a Finland Distinguished Professor (emeritus) at the University of Helsinki. He received his B.A. in both biology and religion from Wesleyan University (1971), and he earned his PhD in biology from the Johns Hopkins University (1976). His M.A. in the history of science, is also from The Johns Hopkins University. He pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin in both molecular biology and developmental immunology. Scott is married to Anne M. Raunio, an obstetrician-gynecologist, and they have three children. Scott’s biological research has two foci. The first concerns how changes in developmental mechanisms can generate evolutionary novelty. Studying “the arrival of the fittest,” he literally investigates how the turtle gets its shell. The second focus concerns the integration of symbionts into a holobiont, and how the symbiotic microbes and host cells facilitate and scaffold each other’s development, truly “becoming with the other.” Scott has received several awards for his work in evolutionary developmental biology, including the Medal of François I from the Collège de France, the Kowalevsky Prize in Evolutionary Developmental Biology, the Viktor Hamburger Award for developmental biology education, and the Service Award from the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology. He has been awarded honorary degrees from the University of Helsinki and the University of Tartu. Scott currently has three co-authored books in print: (1) Developmental Biology, now in its twelfth edition) which is one of the most widely used textbook in the field; (2) Ecological Developmental Biology, which is attempting to help construct a new area of biological science by bringing together aspects of embryology, medical physiology, ecology, and evolution; and (3) Fear, Wonder, and Science in the Age of Reproductive Biotechnology, a science trade-book concerning both the scientific and emotional aspects of reproductive biotechnology.

1. A developmental perspective of homology and evolutionary novelty
Kenneth Z. McKenna, Günter P. Wagner and Kimberly L. Cooper
2. Modularity and hierarchy in biological systems: Using gene regulatory networks to understand evolutionary change
William L. Hatleberg and Veronica F. Hinman
3. Molecular insights into deuterostome evolution from hemichordate developmental biology
Christopher J Lowe
4. Cephalochordates: A window into vertebrate origins
Linda Z. Holland and Nicholas D. Holland
5. Transitional chordates and vertebrate origins: Tunicates
Alexander Fodor, Jiatai Liu, Lindsay Turner and Billie J. Swalla
6. Evolution of new cell types at the lateral neural border
Jan Stundl, Paola Y. Bertucci, Detlev Arendt and Marianne E. Bronner
7. Evo-devo studies of cyclostomes and the origin and evolution of jawed vertebrates
Shigeru Kuratani
8. Heading for higher ground: Developmental origins and evolutionary diversification of the amniote face
Zachary S. Morris and Arhat Abzhanov
9. The origin of wing polyphenism in ants: An eco-evo-devo perspective
Lisa Hanna and Ehab Abouheif
10. Genetic assimilation and accommodation: Models and mechanisms
H. Frederik Nijhout, Anna M. Kudla and Caleb C. Hazelwood
11. Animal development in the microbial world: The power of experimental model systems
Margaret McFall-Ngai and Thomas C.G. Bosch
12. Animal development in the microbial world: Re-thinking the conceptual framework
Thomas C. G. Bosch and Margaret McFall-Ngai