Welcome to the new Website!

Welcome to the Maddin Lab, Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. I am a vertebrate paleontologist and evolutionary developmental biologist.

We work primarily on questions of morphological evolution over broad time scales, using amphibians as models.

The Maddin Lab does not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination. We are an inclusive team where diversity is celebrated and all are welcome. As the department’s EDI representative and member of the Faculty of Science’s EDI committee, I am committed to learning, listening and improving EDI in STEM and beyond.

If you are a student interested in research in the Lab (undergraduate or graduate), please contact Hillary Maddin to discuss current opportunities.

Cover art by Henry Sharpe.

NEWS

We’re recruiting!

Calling all interested graduate students to apply for one of our exciting projects launching Fall 2023. In partnership with the New Brunswick Museum, our Carleton-based team comprised of Drs. Maddin, Danielle Fraser, and Tetsuto Miyashita seeks enthusiastic students to participate in projects aimed at exploring the Carboniferous vertebrates of New Brunswick. Projects include a variety …

Dana wins SVP’s Cohen Award

PhD Candidate Dana Korneisel is this year’s recipient of the prestigious Cohen Award, given annually for graduate student excellence by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Dana’s PhD research aims to understand anatomical, developmental, and functional innovations at the the skull-neck boundary that aided in the water-to-land transition. Congrats Dana!

Congrats to Dr. Bradley McFeeters!

Big congrats to Dr. Brad McFeeters, dinosaur expert extraordinaire! Brad’s thesis revealed many new insights into North American hadrosaurs, including the first record of Maiasaura in Canada, ontogeny of the braincase and new insights into hadrosaur phylogeny. Brad published parts of this work, including one chapter that was selected as Editor’s Choice in Acta Paleontologica …

People

Principal investigator


Dr. Hillary C. Maddin
“Origin and evolution of morphological diversity in amphibians”
Follow @Evo_Deva


Current members

Eleanor Spence – MSc student (2024-present) Project in development


Dr. Ben Otoo – NSF Postdoctoral Fellow (2023-present) “Carboniferous paleoecology”


Caleb Bohus – MSc Student (2023-present) Project in development


Trystan Warnock-Juteau – MSc student (2023-present) Project in development


Caelan Libke – PhD student (2023-present) Project in development


Dr. Thais Condez – Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-present), “Cranial development and evolution in direct developing amphibian species”


Andrew Traynor – PhD student (2021-present), “Evolution and ecology of early synapsids”


Conrad Wilson – PhD Candidate (2021-present), “Paleozoic fish ecology and evolution” (co-supervised with Tetsuto Miyashita)


Jeffrey Yee – MSc student (2021-present), “Regulation of limb development in direct developing species of amphibian” (co-supervised with Tetsuto Miyashita)


Blue Hunter-Moffatt – MSc student (2021-present) “Effects of Late Miocene climate change and grassland expansion on the body size evolution of North American gomphotheres (co-supervised with Dani Fraser)


Dana Korneisel – PhD Candidate (2019-present), “Development and evolution of the atlas-axis complex in tetrapods”

Follow @DanaKorneisel


Misha Whittingham – PhD Candidate (2020-present), “Assessing the paleoecology of Permo-Carboniferous tetrapods using morphological data and floral associations” (co-supervised with Dani Fraser)


Technical wizards

Logan Micucci – fossil preparator


Past members

Zifang Xiong – MSc student (2021-2023), “Anatomy and ecology of a Carboniferous microsaur from Nova Scotia”

Dr. Shreeharsha Tarikere – Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-present), “Developmental genetics of limb development in direct developing amphibian species”

Dr. Thomas Cullen – PDF (2020-2022)

Marissa Livius – MSc student (2020-present), “Endocranial anatomy of Panoplosaurus mirus” (co-supervised with Jordan Mallon)

Mathew Roloson – MSc (2019-2022), “Biogeography of Triceratops” (co-supervised with Jordan Mallon)

Bradley McFeeters – PhD (2016-2022), “Evolution of hadrosaurs in the Campanian of Laramidia”

Jade Atkins – PhD (2015-2021) “Evolution of the head-neck boundary in tetrapods”

Dr. Thomas Arbez – PDF (2019-2021) “Endocranial anatomy of Carboniferous tetrapods”

Erin MacKenzie – MSc (2019-2021) “Influence of brain-skull interactions in the evolution of the amphibian skull”

Matthew Brenning – MSc (2018-2020), co-supervised with Danielle Fraser

Arjan Mann – PhD Candidate (2015-2020) “A revision of the tetrapods of Mazon Creek”

Gabrielle Adams – MSc student (2018-2020), “Anatomy of the embolomere Calligenethlon and review of the embolomeres of Nova Scotia”

Bassel Arnaout – MSc student (2017-2019), “Developmental origin of the cranial vault in Alligator

Thomas Dudgeon – MSc (2017-2019), “The internal cranial anatomy of Champsosaurus and its functional implications” (co-supervised with Jordan Mallon)

Zoe Landry – HBSc (2018-2019), co-supervised with D. Fraser

Bryan Moore – HBSc (2018-2019), co-supervised with J. Mallon

Lauren Wu – research assistant, volunteer

Mathew Roloson – HBSc (2018-2019), “Retention of larval feeding apparatus in metamorphosed axolotl”

Dr. Donald Fowler – Postdoctoral Fellow (2018-2019), follow @evodevodon

Gabrielle Adams – HBSc (2017-2018), “Embolomerous tetrapod remains from Point Edward, Nova Scotia”

Alanna Cantelon – HBSc (2017-2018), “The relationship between brain and skull development in Ambystoma mexicanum

Kim Duff – BSc Research Project (2017), “A complementary staging table for the cranium of Ambystoma mexicanum

Ryan Paterson – MSc (2015-2017), “A complete description and phylogenetic analysis Puijila darwini” (co-supervised with Natalia Rybczynski)

Christian Capehart – DSRI Undergraduate (2017), “New vertebrate fossils from Joggins, Nova Scotia”

Cameron Bushen – DRSI Undergraduate (2017), “Quantitative morphology of salamander skulls”

Brett Roy – HBSc (2016-2017) “Braincase anatomy of the microsaur Pantylus cordatus

Rebekah Vice – HBSc Honours (2016-2017) “The anatomy of the cranial vault of Alligator mississippiensis

Mark Bujaki – HBSc (2015-2016) “CT analysis of the braincase of Champsosaurus lindoei and evidence for the neomorphic bone”

Matthew Brenning – HBSc (2015-2016) “Caecilian suture performance in fenestrated and solid skull types”

Robert Stewart – HBSc (2015-2016) “The utility of the quadrate bone in the systematics of Mosasauridae”

Eric Hickie – HBSc (2014-2015) “The braincase of Maiasaura peeblesorum

Contact

Dr. Hillary C. Maddin
Email: hillary.maddin@carleton.ca
Phone: (613) 520-2600 ext. 1860

Mailing address:
Department of Earth Sciences, Herzberg Laboratories Rm. 2115
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6