NERC grant for Charlie Underwood's research into teeth development in sharks and rays
Research into shark and ray teeth development sheds light on dental development in all vertebrates.
Charlie Underwood, Lecturer in Palaeontology in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has been awarded a NERC (National Environment Research Council) Standard grant for a study entitled: Gnathostome dental pattern and the evolution of chondrichthyan dentitions. NERC research grants are intended to provide financial support for environmental scientists to carry out research projects of international quality at UK universities.
Charlie Underwood explained why this research has implications for understanding tooth development in all vertebrates: 'The project will study the development of teeth within sharks and rays and relate it to the development of teeth in other jawed animals. Whilst the teeth of sharks and rays appear to be unique amongst vertebrates, they have a different microstructure and grow as a 'conveyer belt' from back to front. Despite this, tooth development is controlled by the same genes in all vertebrates. This will allow us to investigate whether teeth have evolved once or multiple times during early vertebrate evolution.'
Image: Micro CT scan of the teeth of an embryo of an electric ray with successive teeth colour-coded
Charlie Underwood teaches on several palaeontology modules.