Philip Conrad James Donoghue FRS is a British

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

and Professor of

Palaeobiology Paleobiology (or palaeobiology) is an interdisciplinary field that combines the methods and findings found in both the earth sciences and the life sciences. Paleobiology is not to be confused with geobiology, which focuses more on the interactio ...

at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

Education

Donoghue was educated at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in geology in 1992 and PhD in

Paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

in 1997 for research supervised by

Richard Aldridge Richard John Aldridge (16 December 1945 – 4 February 2014) was a British palaeontologist and academic, who was Bennett Professor of Geology at the University of Leicester. Academic career Aldridge's career began at Southampton University befor ...

and

Mark Purnell Mark Andrew Purnell is a British palaeontologist, Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Leicester. Purnell is an expert in conodont biostratigraphy (principally Carboniferous) and conodont palaeobiology, focussing especially on atte ...

. He also holds a Master of Science degree in

palynology Palynology is the "study of dust" (from grc-gre, παλύνω, palynō, "strew, sprinkle" and '' -logy'') or of "particles that are strewn". A classic palynologist analyses particulate samples collected from the air, from water, or from deposit ...

from the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

Research and career

Donoghue held an

1851 Research Fellowship The 1851 Research Fellowship is a scheme conducted by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to annually award a three-year research scholarship to approximately eight "young scientists or engineers of exceptional promise". The fellowship ...

at the School of Earth Sciences of the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

in 1997–1998, and a NERC Independent Research Fellow at the Department of Geology of the

in 1999 before returning to the

where he held a proleptic appointment and then lecturer in palaeobiology from 1999 to 2003. Donoghue moved to the School of Earth Sciences of the

as lecturer in geology from 2003 to 2007, senior lecturer in geology in 2007–2008, reader in geology from 2008 to 2010 and professor of palaeobiology in 2010. Donoghue was a

NESTA Nesta (formerly NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is an innovation foundation based in the UK. The organisation acts through a combination of programmes, investment, policy and research, and the formation of part ...

Research Fellow from 2005 to 2007. Donoghue's research focuses on major transitions in evolutionary history, including the origin and early evolution of

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

s, animals, and plants. He has been influential in developing a ' molecular palaeobiology' in which evidence from living and fossil species, anatomy and molecular biology,

phylogenetics In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek language, Greek wikt:φυλή, φυλή/wikt:φῦλον, φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary his ...

and developmental biology, can be integrated to achieve a more holistic understanding of evolutionary history. He introduced

synchrotron A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator, descended from the cyclotron, in which the accelerating particle beam travels around a fixed closed-loop path. The magnetic field which bends the particle beam into its closed p ...

tomography Tomography is imaging by sections or sectioning that uses any kind of penetrating wave. The method is used in radiology, archaeology, biology, atmospheric science, geophysics, oceanography, plasma physics, materials science, astrophysics, quantu ...

to palaeontology, and has played a leading role in establishing the role of palaeontology in establishing evolutionary timescales.

Awards and honours

Donoghue was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2015. His certificate of election reads: Donoghue has been on the Councils of the

Palaeontological Association The Palaeontological Association (PalAss for short) is a charitable organisation based in the UK founded in 1957 for the promotion of the study of palaeontology and allied sciences. Publications The Association publishes two main journals: ' ...

, Systematics Association, the

Micropalaeontological Society The Micropalaeontological Society (TMS) is a scientific society based in the UK with international membership. It was founded in 1970 for the promotion of the study of micropalaeontology, the study of microscopic fossils. TMS is established as ...

and the European Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology. His research has been recognised by the award of the Philip Leverhulme Prize of the

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to suppo ...

in 2004, the

Bigsby Medal The Bigsby Medal is a medal of the Geological Society of London established by John Jeremiah Bigsby. It is awarded for the study of American geology. Recipients SourcThe Geological Society See also * List of geology awards * Prizes named after ...

of the

Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

in 2007, and the President's Medal of the

in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donoghue, Philip 1971 births Living people Alumni of the University of Leicester Academics of the University of Bristol British palaeontologists Conodont specialists Fellows of the Royal Society