Vertebrate Paleontology Staff
Dr. Edward B. Daeschler
Associate Curator
Ted Daeschler started at the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1987 as a Collections Manager. After receiving his PhD from University of Pennsylvania in 1998 he joined the curator ranks. His research has focused on collecting and describing Late Devonian fossil vertebrates from Pennsylvania and the Canadian Arctic including numerous sarcopterygian fishes along the lineage leading to the earliest limbed animals. Ted has directed the re-housing of most of the vertebrate paleontology collection at the Academy with an eye toward the long-term conservation of this important historical and scientific resource.
Dr. Jason P. Downs
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Jason Downs joined the vertebrate paleontology group at the Academy of Natural Sciences after receiving his Ph.D. from Yale University in 2006. He is a postdoctoral researcher with a specific interest in the use of microstructural data to address the early evolution of the vertebrate skeleton. Actively engaged in field work in Paleozoic rocks throughout North America, Jason is currently contributing to our understanding of the Academy's Late Devonian fossil collection.
Ned Gilmore
Collections Manager
Ned Gilmore started working for the Academy in 1991 and became collection manager for the department in 1999. He has worked on collection databaseing, curation and Type studies of several of the collections at the Academy. His interests are in the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary fossils of the eastern coastal plain of North America. Ned also participates in many outreach programs for Academy members and the local community.
Frederick Mullison
Fossil Preparator
Frederick Mullison started as a volunteer at the Academy in 1995 in the Vertebrate Paleontology Department. He has been working full time in the department as a Preparator since 1999. Originally, graduating college with a BFA in Fine Arts, Frederick worked for twenty years as a commercial photographer before changing careers to pursue what had always been his first interest: paleontology. "It's not unusual to find preparators with backgrounds in Fine Arts. In addition to having a love of learning, the most important skill for a good preparator is to first be a good craftsman and to enjoy working with both your hands and your brain."