https://www.morrisresearch.org/notes daily 0.75 2024-08-21 https://www.morrisresearch.org/home daily 1.0 2025-02-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/1631886469250-TUFGEZF1DC4MKY6QQYFT/OfficePhoto_narrow.jpg Home - Zachary S. Morris I study the evolutionary and developmental origins of vertebrate form. I am particularly interested in the evolution of developmental patterns and the role played by cellular processes in the evolution of diversity. My current focus is on the developmental mechanisms driving convergent origin of the ossified palate (roof of the mouth) across amniotes (birds, ‘reptiles’, & mammals). By integrating developmental, anatomical, and paleontological perspectives my research strives to uncover the major mechanisms underlying evolutionary phenomena. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/5b0c64c5-3153-411d-a045-3e3e99e89e48/Baby_Croc_ActionShot_Zach.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/1632495958422-ZM0P0277XMA7N6BHNTN9/IMG_5199.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/7530bb11-203d-4b16-981a-f2716c15be68/PEFOpic.JPG Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/1632497878561-E68OWCI8GBV1PY1737WN/IMG_0934.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/1632496039912-7HREY0P902NIJ5XZJEWA/IMG_3907.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/05f3e3c5-b516-4486-9ede-e69f62c37609/Croc_EvoDevo_Skull_Poster.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/1632497795697-SGL87O05GSEM2B0DKRON/IMG_3696.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/e040bce2-c205-4f06-bd59-cd1609b4304c/RSPB_286_1897_OFC.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/71eca146-09ac-4cfd-bf6e-563c3f7e0085/IMG_1273.jpeg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/2c9c6f1d-04fc-4eae-b92b-cfdcedcde929/IMG_5208.JPG Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/1ea17ecd-28d3-4fe9-a4aa-03c39e5c2ae1/IMG_3693.JPG Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/dd2804ca-7d5b-4d48-8303-c197d0ca2034/IMG_2625.JPG Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/1632497701523-UZF8RXSLABZWY21L5FXW/IMG_2253.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/b49b65e7-c45b-4b0b-b254-dd8eb9128f7a/LateGatorEmbryo.png Home https://www.morrisresearch.org/lab-members daily 0.75 2021-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1624485278269-JRJ2J0LJ8DEF5P76X0PL/headshot+of+a+smiling+woman Lab Members - First Name Last Name It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1624485317842-P9AZEIXDXR85FTFPHC2N/headshot+of+a+smiling+man Lab Members - First Name Last Name Tobias Keene, D.D.S. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Tobias Keene brings a bit of unabashed Southern hospitality to all his patients. He moved to Washington, D.C. over thirty years ago as a freshman at Ivy College. Right after graduation, he attended World University’s School of Dentistry. Before opening Keene Dental in 1994, he worked for free clinics and some of the finest practices in the District. He is part of the 123 Dental Association and stays up-to-date on the latest dental discoveries. When not striving to keep his patients happy and healthy, he’s enjoys hiking with his family in Rock Creek Park. https://www.morrisresearch.org/teaching daily 0.75 2023-02-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1589847895626-I0RS2T6LQGM9IRYBEERM/image-asset.jpeg Teaching - The Fishy Aspects of the Human Body I believe that understanding the origins of our own bodies is something that should not be kept secret for only advanced, specialist students, so I was very excited to co-develop this general education course. Based around readings from “Your Inner Fish” by Neil Shubin, students explored the fossil record and developmental genetics to understand the origins of human anatomy. I designed hands-on activities to build on in-class discussions of chapters covering everything from the Working backwards from the course objectives, I worked with museum staff to select specimens from across vertebrate paleontology, invertebrate zoology, herpetology, ornithology, and mammalogy collections to highlight the parallel trends explored during weekly readings. For example, juxtaposing stations on the evolution of mammalian hearing with the development of the middle ear allowed students to discover key parallels and discuss underlying processes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/5d8e3b53-f6b4-4da8-9d12-087c7430b19e/VertEvo_Teaching.png Teaching - Vertebrate Evolution As a teaching fellow, I co-created a new version of this advanced undergraduate course with the vertebrate paleontology curator, Dr. Stephanie Pierce. I designed exciting new specimen based lab sections in which students could directly interact with fossils and specimens from the teaching collections at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. I created new handouts which guided students through the major evolutionary trends and prompted their learning through questions about specific objects on display. This approach allowed students to explore either individually or in small groups and learn the key anatomical features and core evolutionary concepts though self directed learning. I also organized a field trip so that students could discover for themselves how to apply their knowledge like a real paleontologist. https://www.morrisresearch.org/publications daily 0.75 2024-08-21 https://www.morrisresearch.org/research daily 0.75 2024-01-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/f238951f-f0ad-43f2-932a-0da2edf0c9dd/Croc_Embryo_Skull_Shapes_square_small.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/1671808872405-OMXNAIZZ9TRT8264TUS2/Croc_EvoDevo_Skull_Poster.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613b686bca3ee440c1c4d752/c6678eb6-1b52-402a-9681-200dcd83117d/Alligator_st17_sox9_nasalcapsule.gif