About
My research concentrates on the functional anatomy of terrestrial vertebrates, with particular focus on the locomotor system. My goal is to understand the links between morphology (both hard and soft tissues) and limb biomechanics in order to better characterise how animals achieve their full range of behavioural activities and interact with their environments. I am particularly interested in the functional consequences of changing morphology through deep time and evaluating how elements of the locomotor system have evolved to allow animals to radiate into a variety of ecological niches. This has led me to study a range of living tetrapods from primates (particularly humans and other Great Apes) to archosaurs (birds and crocodilians) in order to further our understanding of major evolutionary transitions in locomotor biomechanics. I routinely use a range of theoretical and experimental techniques to study locomotion, ranging from motion analysis, force and pressure platforms to 3D static and dynamic computer simulations. In addition to research into evolutionary biomechanics I am also actively involved in a number of clinical and veterinary projects, including work on ageing human knees, dysfunction and disease in the canine locomotor system, and monitoring age-related limb degeneration in domestic dogs using gait analysis and plantar pressure data.