Who am I?

I am a BBSRC Future Leader Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University.

My research interests straddle the fields of functional morphology, comparative anatomy, palaeontology and 3D imaging, including:

• the evolution of mammalian genitalia, particularly the form and funtion of the baculum
• the reconstruction of body size in the fossil record
• the development of analytical techniques to quantify shape in biological structures
• the application of advanced imaging technique to model damage to built heritage

Academic and professional qualifications

I have a BSc in Geography and Geology from the University of Manchester (2009) and a PhD in Animal Biology from the University of Manchester.

Previous employment

2016 - 2016 BBSRC Future Leader Fellow, University of Manchester

2015 - 2016 BBSRC-funded Research Technician, University of Manchester

2014 - 2015 Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Natural History Museum, London

Why study ?

Postgraduate supervision (completed/in progress)

Callum McLean (PhD Student) 2016-ongoing: The biomechanics of predatory structures in arthropods

Research expertise

I am a BBSRC Future Leader Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University.

My research is highly interdisciplinary, spanning taxonomic groups and geologic time periods, seeking to address questions of form and function using 3D imaging and computational simulation approaches. During my fellowship, I will be focusing on the evolution of mammalian genitalia. In several groups of mammals, males possess a bone within the penis called the baculum. Whilst many hypotheses have been put forward to explain this structure, rigorous biomechanical analyses have been lacking. In some species, females also possess an analogous bone, although its occurrence and potential function is even more mysterious. I will be combining traditional anatomy, phylogenetics, high-resolution CT imaging and engineering simulations to investigate the evolution of these enigmatic structures.

Publications

• Journal articles

  J. Gardiner, J. Behnsen, C. Brassey (2018). Alpha shapes: Determining 3D shape complexity across morphologically diverse structures. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 18,

  CJ. McLean, RJ. Garwood, CA. Brassey (2018). Sexual dimorphism in the Arachnid orders. PeerJ. 6,

  N. D'Cruze, B. Singh, A. MOOKERJEE, D. Macdonald, K. Hunter, et al. C. Brassey, R. Jennifer, S. Megson, DP. Megson, G. Fox, J. Louies, RS. Sharath. (2018). What’s in a name? Wildlife traders evade authorities using code words. Oryx. 52(1), pp.13-15.

  CA. Brassey, S. Maidment, P. Barrett (2017). Muscle moment arm analyses applied to vertebrate paleontology: a case study using Stegosaurus stenops Marsh, 1887. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37(5), pp.e1361432-e1361432.

  CA. Brassey, T. O'Mahoney, A. Chamberlain, W. Sellers (2017). A volumetric technique for fossil body mass estimation applied to Australopithecus afarensis. Journal of Human Evolution. 115, pp.47-64.

  W. Sellers, S. Pond, CA. Brassey, P. Manning, K. Bates (2017). Investigating the running abilities of Tyrannosaurus rex using stress-constrained multibody dynamic analysis. PeerJ. 5,

  KE. Peyer, C. Brassey, K. Rose, WI. Sellers (2017). Locomotion pattern and foot pressure adjustments during gentle turns in healthy subjects. Journal of Biomechanics. 60, pp.65-71.

  CA. Brassey (2017). Body mass estimation in paleontology: a review of volumetric techniques. The Paleontological Society Papers. 22, pp.133-156.

  S. Lautenschlager, CA. Brassey, DJ. Button, PM. Barrett (2016). Decoupled form and function in disparate herbivorous dinosaur clades. Scientific Reports. 6,

  CA. Brassey, AC. Kitchener, PJ. Withers, PL. Manning, WI. Sellers (2013). The role of cross-sectional geometry, curvature, and limb posture in maintaining equal safety factors: a computed tomography study. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 296(3), pp.395-413.

  CA. Brassey, L. Margetts, AC. Kitchener, PJ. Withers, PL. Manning, et al. WI. Sellers. (2013). Finite element modelling versus classic beam theory: comparing methods for stress estimation in a morphologically diverse sample of vertebrate long bones. J R Soc Interface. 10(79), pp.20120823-20120823.

  WI. Sellers, J. Hepworth-Bell, PL. Falkingham, KT. Bates, CA. Brassey, et al. VM. Egerton, PL. Manning. (2012). Minimum convex hull mass estimations of complete mounted skeletons. Biol Lett. 8(5), pp.842-845.

Expert reviewer for journals and publishers

• Reviewer for Royal Society Proceedings B, Royal Society Interface, Journal of Biomechanics, Journal of Zoology, Journal of Theoretical Biology, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Journal of Poultry Science, Cretaceous Research, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Paleontologica Electronica and PLoS ONE.
• Grant and fellowship reviewer for BBSRC, NERC and Leverhulme

Grants

2017 Leverhulme Research Project Grant (£199,745) - Co-Investigator Ballistic damage of stone heritage structures in conflict areas

2017 MMU Global Challenges Research Fund (£6320) - Principal Investigator The geomorphology and conservation of damaged heritage in modern conflict zones.

2015 BBSRC Future Leader Fellowship (£285,539) – Principal Investigator Bones of contention: The functional morphology and biomechanics of the mammalian os penis and os clitoridis.

2015 Jurassic Foundation (£2000) – Principal Investigator Forward dynamic analysis of stegosaur locomotion and associated trackway simulation.

2015 British Ornithological Society Small Grants (£1300) – Principal Investigator The anatomy and functional mechanics of cranial ornamentation in the Southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius).

2015 NERC Summer of Science Outreach Call (£4000) – Co-Investigator Kinect controlled dinosaur simulations for education and public outreach.

2013 PRACE European Distributed Computing Initiative (6 million core hours, notional value ~£75,000) – Co-investigator Gait generation optimization algorithms.