Series: Careering off course

Paul Dodsworth has +20 years of experience as a full-time biostratigraphic consultant. He has written six papers in peer-reviewed journals on the applications of palynology to stratigraphic problem solving. He has co-written a further five multi-disciplinary papers. His expertise mainly focuses on the Upper Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleogene palynology and stratigraphy of Europe, the Middle East, North America and Africa. Office-based studies of hydrocarbon wells from these regions allow accurate stratigraphic calibration.

Henry Gee earned his BSc at the University of Leeds and completed his PhD at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He joined Nature as a reporter in 1987 and is now Senior Editor, Biological Sciences. He has published a number of books, including Before the Backbone: Views on the Origin of the Vertebrates (1996), In Search of Deep Time (1999), A Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2003) and Jacob's Ladder (2004). 

Dr. Amanda Kear's first career was as a research zoologist, doing a PhD on cephalopod molluscs, then a postdoc on fossil formation (taphonomy). Since 1994 she has worked for the BBC Natural History Unit in various capacities - in Information & Archives, in online (e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wildlifefinder/) and as a programme maker. As well as being an archive specialist. She also used to tutor biology and earth science students for the Open University.

Dr. Jon Radley has for the last 20 years worked as a geologist principally within the museum sector and has developed expertise in the public understanding and interpretation of science, collecting philosophies, and geoconservation. Jon also has a spare-time research profile, notably concerning the Lower and Middle Jurassic strata of central England and the non-marine Lower Cretaceous strata of southern England.

Dr. Sarah Gabbot's research broadly focusses on exceptionally preserved fossils especially those of entirely soft bodied animals. She is currently (2016)  a Senior Lecturer in Palaeobiology based at the University of  Leicester.

Q&A

How did you get to where you are?

The short answer is hard work, luck and a fascination with animals. I believe that I have taken a fairly conventional route to becoming a lecturer via A Levels, a degree from Southampton University in Geology, a Ph.D. from the University of Leicester and a two year postdoctoral research assistantship, also at Leicester University.

Professor Euan Clarkson studied geology at the University of Cambridge and had a long career as a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. His most notable research occurred in the study of trilobites (especially visual systems), Paleozoic stratigraphy and the discovery of the Conodont.