Amy M. Balanoff, MS, PhD

Primary Academic Title

Assistant Professor of Functional Anatomy and Evolution

Lab Website

Balanoff Lab - Lab Website

Research Summary

The Balanoff lab is pursuing questions regarding the interplay of behavioral innovation with anatomical structure and function during major transformations in the evolutionary history of vertebrates. This research program targets these critical periods using a highly integrative, multidisciplinary approach that employs paleontological, molecular, and behavioral imaging data to test how structural changes in the brain respond to, and perhaps even drive behavioral innovation.

Selected Publications

• Balanoff A, Ferrer E, Saleh L, Gignac P, Gold MEL, Marugán-Lobón J, Norell M, Ouellette D, Salerno M, Watanabe A, Wei S, Bever G*, Vaska P*. Early view. Quantitative functional imaging of the pigeon brain: implications for the evolution of avian powered flight. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

• Balanoff AM, Bever GS, Rowe TB, Norell MA. 2013. Evolutionary origins of the avian brain. Nature 501:92-96

• Balanoff AM, Bever GS. 2020. The role of endocasts in brain evolution. In: J. Kaas (ed.), Evolutionary Neuroscience, 2ndEdition. Oxford, Elsevier.

• Choiniere J, Neenan JM, Schmitz L, Ford DP, Chapelle KEJ, Balanoff AM, et al. 2021. Specialized nocturnal sensory adaptations in alvarezsauroid dinosaurs. Science 372:610-613

• Ksepka DT*, Balanoff AM*, Smith NA*, et al. 2020. Tempo and pattern of avian brain size evolution. Current Biology 30:2026-2036.  * co-first authors