Special Advisor to the Provost for the Life Sciences
Neil H. Shubin is the Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy.
As Special Advisor, Neil leads the strategy for the life sciences across the University. He convenes committees to review life sciences programming and works with deans, department chairs, faculty, and students to enhance current capacities and develop new and emerging areas of scholarship. Neil also focuses on strengthening our partnership with the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), ensuring faculty and students are able to maximize research and teaching collaborations.
Neil also serves as Associate Dean for Academic Strategy in the Biological Sciences Division. His past appointments have included Chair of the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, Assistant Dean for Basic Science Education in the Pritzker School of Medicine, Provost of the Field Museum of Natural History and, interim Co-Director of the Marine Biological Laboratory.
Neil’s research examines the evolution and development of vertebrate animals, specifically the transition from water to land by fish. He leads expeditions to polar regions in search of fossils and explores the genetics and evolution of the formation of the skeleton in living fish and amphibians. He is also a communicator of science to the general public. He received his AB from Columbia University in 1982 and a PhD from Harvard in 1987. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
