Natural History Museum scientist Professor Anjali Goswami elected Fellow of the Royal Society

Over 90 exceptional researchers from across the world have this year been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences, including Prof Anjali Goswami of the Natural History Museum.

The Royal Society is a self-governing fellowship made up of many of the world’s most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists. Fellows are elected for life through a peer review process on the basis of excellence in science.

Anjali is a Research Leader and Individual Merit Researcher in Evolutionary Biology at the NHM. Her work on animal evolution through deep time has been transformative to developing and understanding patterns in vertebrate evolution and diversity. Much of Anjali’s work has focussed on developing new mathematical methods to measure the complex shape of organisms and use this evidence in comparing species and tracing evolution.

Upon receiving this prestigious accolade, Anjali said: “I am extremely honoured to be selected to join the exceptional fellowship of the Royal Society and overwhelmed by gratitude to those who have supported me throughout my career.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have a job where I can fully immerse myself in the most interesting questions about the natural world, work at an institution with unparalleled collections, facilities, and colleagues, and travel the world to meet and work with brilliant scientists and scholars.

“I look forward to new opportunities with the Royal Society to inspire and support future generations to achieve their goals and push the boundaries of human knowledge for the benefit of all.”

Director of the NHM, Dr Doug Gurr, said, “Anjali’s ambitious work has been momumental in expanding our understanding of mammalian evolution and our interpretation of the tree of life. Not only this, but her dedication to developing and inspiring our postgraduate and postdoctoral communities has been tranformational for those who come after her.”

In addition to her analytical work on evolution, Anjali has undertaken fossil field expeditions from Svalbard to Madagascar, currently leading work in Argentina and India to understand the huge change in global biodiversity 66 million years ago, the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Anjali has published more than 140 scientific articles on the evolution of different groups from insects to dinosaurs, but her main interest is in the evolution of mammals. She heads an active research group of postdoctoral and postgraduate scientists at the Museum with wide ranging grant-funded collaborations internationally. 

Anjali has just completed a period as Dean of the Graduate Centre at the Museum, leading development and delivery of joint postgraduate programmes with a number of UK universities and driving innovative approaches to diversity and inclusion. She has previously led the NHM Research Theme on Phenomics and Advanced Analysis and currently co-leads the Research Theme on the Evolution of Planets and Life.

In addition to her roles at the NHM, Anjali is Honorary Professor of Palaeobiology at University College London (UCL) in the Department of Genetics, Evolution, and Environment. In 2022, she was elected President of the Linnean Society of London, the world’s oldest active biological society and where Darwin’s theory of evolution was first presented in 1858.

Educated at the University of Michigan and with a doctorate from the University of Chicago, Anjali has worked on form, function and evolution of the vertebrate skull, looking at patterns of development and diversity over millions of years.

She held a National Science Foundation international postdoctoral fellowship at the Natural History Museum, before becoming a lecturer first at the University of Cambridge from 2007, then from 2009 at University College London (UCL). Promoted to Reader in 2013, she became Professor of Palaeobiology at UCL in 2016. In 2017, she became principal investigator and research leader at the Natural History Museum. 

Anjali has played an active role in the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and the International Society for Vertebrate Morphology and has given keynote lectures at numerous conferences.  She has taken editorial responsibility with a number of significant scientific journals. She has been awarded the Humanists UK Darwin Day Medal in 2023, Palaeontological Association President’s Medal, 2021, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology inaugural Robert Lynn Carroll award, 2021, the Zoological Society of London Scientific Medal, 2018, and the Linnean Society of London Bicentenary Medal, 2016. 

This year’s intake of Fellows have been elected from 23 UK institutions, including the Natural History Museum, as well as from countries including Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico and Singapore.  

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, said: “I am pleased to welcome such an outstanding group into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.

“This new cohort have already made significant contributions to our understanding of the world around us and continue to push the boundaries of possibility in academic research and industry.

“From visualising the sharp rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution to leading the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, their diverse range of expertise is furthering human understanding and helping to address some of our greatest challenges.

“It is an honour to have them join the Fellowship.”

ENDS

Press pack including images available here.

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