Jukka Jernvall
Professor, Group leader
Jukka.Jernvall -at- helsinki.fi
Jukka Jernvall is a professor of developmental and evolutionary biology at University of Helsinki and research professor at Stony Brook University, NY, USA. Paleontological field studies in Turkey directed his interest to mammalian dentition and to the interplay between developmental biology and ecology. His dissertation research focused on the developmental mechanisms generating mammalian molar tooth diversity and he received a Ph.D. in Zoology from University of Helsinki in 1995. He likes collaborative projects that bring together researchers from different disciplines to open new opportunities for discovery. The current research of his team ranges from mutant mice in the laboratory to evolutionary diversity in the fossil record and to wild primate populations in the rainforests of Madagascar. Methodologically he combines experimental work with computational simulations and models. Jukka Jernvall is best known for work linking evolution and development which has helped to place the study of mammalian dentition in the forefront of the expanding field of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). (Photo: Veikko Somerpuro)