Professor Anjali Goswami elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society

Professor Goswami is an evolutionary biologist of international renown at the Natural History Museum, London, specialising in vertebrate evolution and development, particularly in the emerging area of evolutionary phenomics. She and her group develop and apply new approaches to capturing the complex three-dimensional shapes of organisms in order to reconstruct the evolution of biodiversity. She is particularly interested in understanding how development, ecology and large-scale environmental change interact to shape animal evolution through deep time.

Her work spans insects to dinosaurs, but her main interest is in the evolution of mammals. To fill key gaps in the palaeontological record, she has searched for fossils from Svalbard to Madagascar, with her primary fieldwork being in South India.

Watch Professor Goswami’s Presidential Lecture about her research

Professor Goswami was elected President of the Linnean Society in 2022, having previously received the Bicentenary Medal in 2016. During her time as President she has spearheaded the development of a new strategy that has a greater focus on improving accessibility and creating diverse communities working for a world where nature is understood, valued and protected.

She is also the recipient of the Zoological Society of London Scientific Medal, the Hind Rattan Award, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s Robert L. Carroll Award, the Palaeontological Association President’s Medal and the Humanists UK Darwin Day Medal.

Professor Gail Cardew, CEO of the Linnean Society, said: “Anjali’s Fellowship of the Royal Society is richly deserved. It is wonderful to see her scientific excellence recognised in this way, and I’m pleased to congratulate her on behalf of everyone at the Society. As President of the Linnean Society, Anjali has brought energy and drive that is reflected in her achievements so far in her Presidency. Her passion for communicating about her research and increasing diversity in STEM is an incredible example for all scientists.”