Research interests

• Evolution of animal body plans
• Macroevolution
• Molecular Palaeobiology
• Biomineralisation
• Evolutionary Developmental Biology

Current research

Current research is focused around a few major themes ranging from evolutionary developmental biology, to palaeobiology to projects which comine the two. Most of my work uses echinoderms as a model system. This is because they represent a unique model system with both an excellent fossil record, and well-characterised molecular and developmental pathways underpinning the development and evolution of thier skeletons. 

My Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship seeks to combine 3D morphometrics and quantification of morphological evolution with gene expression to understand the evolution of body plans in sea urchins. For this, I have assembled a large database of hundreds of micro-CT scans and 3D models of fossil and extant sea urchins that we can use to understand in precise detail the pace and pattern of morphological evolution and diversification in deep time.

Additionally, we are currently developing the sea urchin Mespilia globulus as a model for understanding the role of gene expression in skeletal development and evolution. By understanding the development of the skeleton of this animal, we can begin to understand the role of changes in the expression and regulation of skeletal genes in body plan evolution. To carry out this work, we use cutting-edge in situ hybridisation approaches combined with transcriptomics, and quantification of morphological changes during development using micro-CT scanning.

Current research is also focused on understanding the molecular, morphological, and cellular processes underlying biomineralisation. Biomineralisation is the process by which varied organsims make their skeletons. Skeletons are crucial for providing support, protection, and structure to varied animal groups, from humans to snails. By understanding the molecular, chemical, and cellular mechanisms by which animals build biomineralised skeletons, we can understand address a number of important issues facing the world today, from the impact of climate change on marine animals, to the problems associated with engineering and materials design. 

Lastly, as a palaeobiologist, I am interested in the role of fossils in understanding past episodes of biodiversity and climatic change. But in order to do this, we need to have an understanding of how geological and biological filters bias the data that we have. I have an ongoing interest in the taphonomic filters through which ancient biodiversity data passes, which affect the preservation, or non-preservation, of fossils. Current work aims to understand the drivers and controlling factors underlying the preservation of echinoderm skeletons in the fossil record. 

Dr. Jeff Thompson is broadly interested in understanding the patterns and processes that have underlain the generation of the vast biodiversity we see on planet earth today. Trained as a geologist and palaeobiologist at The Ohio State University, he completed his PhD at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. It was during his PhD that he first became interested in the role of animal development in shaping evolutionary change. He undertook a postdoctoral position at Baylor University, continuing his work on the fossil record working to understand the impact of the end-Permian mass extinction on ancient biodiversity. In order to gain familiarity using the analytical approaches and techniques of developmental biology, he undertook a Newton International Fellowship at University College London, where he began working on gene expression udnerlying skeletogenesis in echinoderms. After a short position at The Natural History Museum in London, he has come to Southampton as a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow and Lecturer in Evolutionary Developmental Biology where he seeks to blend data from the fossil record and animal development to gain an interdisciplinary view of macroevolutionary processes shaping the history of life.