Summary
Richard Dearden is a postdoctoral researcher with a decade of experience using modern imaging and paleobiological methods to unravel vertebrate evolution, with a specialist focus on sharks, rays and early jawless fishes. He has held research positions across leading UK and European institutions, including Naturalis and the University of Birmingham, and combines museum-based specimen work with high-resolution imaging to publish in cross-disciplinary journals such as Nature and PNAS. A successful grant-writer and Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow, he builds strong networks with museum professionals and collaborators to enable large comparative projects. Beyond taxonomy and morphology, his work connects deep-time evolutionary questions to functional feeding reconstructions, revealing unexpected insights into how early vertebrates fed.
10 years of coding experience
5 years of employment as a software developer
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD Palaeobiology, Doctor of Philosophy - PhD Palaeobiology at Imperial College London
Master of Arts - MA Natural Sciences (Zoology), Master of Arts - MA Natural Sciences (Zoology) at University of Cambridge
Master of Science - MSc Palaeobiology, Master of Science - MSc Palaeobiology at University of Bristol