Morphological and functional diversity in the masticatory system of multituberculate mammals.

The multituberculates were the longest surviving lineage of mammals, existing for more than 125 million years. Unlike the majority of the dinosaurs, multituberculates survived the catastrophic extinction event around 65 million years ago. However, by approximately 40 million years ago, multituberculates had become extinct, leaving no living descendants, whereas placental mammals continued to diversify and increase in abundance to the present day.
There are clear similarities between the extinct multituberculates and living rodents in terms of their anatomy, body size and inferred diets, locomotion, and habitats; but the greatest convergence is seen in the masticatory system. Multituberculates had a distinctive rodent-like dentition made up of enlarged chisel-shaped incisors separated from the cheek teeth by a diastema (toothless space). Similarly to rodents, the multituberculate temporomandibular joint allowed considerable antero-posterior movement of the lower jaw, thus enabling both incisor and molar occlusion, although not simultaneously.
To date it remains unclear why a group as temporally and geographically successful as the multituberculates became extinct around the time of the diversification of modern placental mammals. The main hypothesis is that multituberculates were out-competed by their placental lookalikes the rodents. This project seeks to shed light on multituberculate extinction and the competitive exclusion hypothesis, by quantifying their morphological and functional convergence with rodents and by modelling the biomechanics of feeding. Morphological convergence will be analysed with geometric morphometrics, a landmark-based statistical shape analysis methodology. Biomechanical performance will be predicted via finite element analysis, a 3D virtual modelling technique.

Principal supervisor: Dr Sam Cobb (Hull York Medical School, University of York)
Co-supervisors: Dr Phil Cox (Hull York Medical School, University of York) and Dr Ian Corfe (University of Helsinki)
This is a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) position and, in addition to research, the successful candidate will be expected to contribute up to 250 hours per annum of teaching support. This will include the supervision of laboratory classes (in gross anatomy, physiology, virtual anthropology and evolutionary anatomy), day-to-day support for MSc students in relation to research projects, and general support to MBBS and MSc teaching and assessment as required. Such a wide portfolio will provide the student with a great deal of teaching experience, which will contribute significantly to employability post-PhD. As part of this position, there will also be the opportunity to gain a teaching qualification (York Learning and Teaching Award) if desired.
We do not expect the successful candidate to be able to cover all areas of teaching and research in the first instance – training will be provided in areas in which they are unfamiliar. Additionally, training will be provided in relation to University teaching methods, management and delivery. The principal base for the successful candidate’s research and teaching will be on the University of York campus. However, teaching duties may occasionally involve physical presence at the HYMS University of Hull campus.

You are encouraged to contact Dr Sam Cobb ([Email Address Removed]) directly to discuss this position prior to submitting your application.
The successful candidate will be expected to hold a first class honours degree or an upper second in a relevant subject area and, ideally, a Master’s degree in a relevant topic with honours or distinction. As part of your application you will need to submit a CV, and a personal statement outlining your career to date, career intentions as well as detailing your experience, skills and knowledge relevant to this position (up to 1000 words). Some experience in the delivery of academic or practical content to small groups would be preferred. You should have excellent written and oral communication skills, be able to work well independently and be highly motivated to undertake PhD research.
All applications to HYMS via the online application method: http://www.hyms.ac.uk/postgraduate/how-to-apply/applying-for-postgraduate-study
Please select ‘PhD in Human Sciences’ start date ‘2018 October, full-time’.

Please quote HYMS - and the project title when applying. You are required to complete the application form in full and provide a research proposal/outline of academic interest. Research proposals and personal statements may be used in selecting applicants for interview. Please note that this is a student scholarship. If you will be employed by HYMS (e.g. on a fixed or short term contract) for the duration of your study, you will not be eligible to receive the student scholarship as a member of HYMS staff.