Patrick O'Connor, PhD
Dr. Patrick O'Connor is an evolutionary biologist and paleontologist who combines information from the fossil record with modern animals and the ecosystems in which they live to understand how past environments may have influenced extinction and survivorship dynamics at different points in Earth history.
He completed a degree in biological anthropology at Michigan State University, followed by a PhD in anatomical sciences at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Immediately following, Pat took a tenure-track position (Neuroscience and Anatomy) at the Ohio University College of Medicine (Athens, Ohio), where he advanced to the rank of full professor and presidential research scholar while simultaneously serving in various administrative roles, including assistant dean of research programs and curriculum director.
Pat's field research spans from Colorado and Utah to Madagascar, eastern and northern Africa, and Antarctica, united by the common theme of how large-scale environmental change influences ecosystems and biotas during the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Along with students and colleagues from around the globe, Pat and his collaborators regularly describe species new to science, including several exciting and oftentimes bizarre non-avian dinosaurs, birds, crocodiles, and mammals, while simultaneously describing the environments in which these animals once existed.
In addition to mentoring postdoctoral researchers and students spanning from the undergraduate, graduate and medical ranks at Ohio University for the past 25 years, Pat now (since January 2024) serves as the Director of Earth and Space Sciences and Senior Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the DMNS. In this role, Pat’s energy is tied to elevating science at the DMNS and informing how we do it…and ultimately, impacting people and communities near and far.