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March 09, 2006
Vincent Debat
Vincent Debat: Born in Paris in 1974, I started collecting butteflies at 7. I was so passionate that I decided to become a professional butterfly catcher until I realized I could not realistically live from it. A few years later, I started biology studies at the University of Paris, Jussieu. I came to evolutionary biology through Steve Gould’s books I used to borrow from my father. I moved to Montpellier to get a degree in Paleontology, for I believe that an evolutionary biologist must possess at least some elementary knowledge in Paleontology. I did my PhD there with Jean Christophe Auffray. After 3 postdocs – in Paris with Jean David, in Riverside California with Derek Roff, and in Manchester with Chris Klingenberg – I was just appointed Assistant Professor at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle of Paris. My research involves the coupling of geometric morphometrics, quantitative genetics, and developmental genetics to investigate the origin of phenotypic variation, which is part of the field of evolutionary developmental biology, or Evo devo. I have not lost the fascination for the amazing beauty of living things, which remains one of the reasons why I am a biologist.
Posted by gharp at March 9, 2006 11:40 PM