Maria McNamara

School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences

College of Science, Engineering and Food Science 

Specific Purpose Whole-time Post

(anticipated duration of 5 years)

UCC wishes to appoint an experienced academic to the role of Lecturer in Palaeontology within the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences. To expand our team, we are looking for excellent, highly motivated candidates whose skills, ambition and vision complement those of existing staff and those in the wider School.

The School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, within the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science (SEFS) comprises the academic disciplines of Geology, Zoology, Ecology, Plant Science, Agricultural Science and Environmental Science and is a diverse and dynamic community with many transdisciplinary internal research linkages and important external research collaborations with institutions around the globe. The School is one of the largest in the College of Science and Food Science (SEFS), is highly research active and offers a wide variety of programmes across the disciplines. The School offers nine undergraduate programmes including BSc Geology, BSc International Field Geosciences and BSc Earth Sciences, three taught MSc programmes including MSc Applied Environmental Geology, four MRes programmes and an MRes Geological Science. The School has 29 permanent academic staff including a Chair of Geology and Professor of Palaeontology. All academic staff members in geoscience are PIs or funded researchers in the SFI research centre iCRAG (Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences). Research activities in Palaeontology are supported by excellent laboratory facilities that include a dedicated Palaeontology laboratory outfitted with fume hood, three constant temperature chambers, 3D printer, portable XRF analyser  and high-pressure high-temperature rig, and by a new microbeam laboratory with VP-SEM, micro-FTIR, micro-Raman, ultramicrotome and diverse light microscopy facilities. Other relevant facilities in the School include a dedicated histology laboratory, environmentally controlled tank facility and growth rooms and genetic sequencing facilities.

The successful candidate will be expected to have a doctorate in Palaeontology or related area, and should demonstrate a proven commitment to excellence in teaching and research as evidenced by a scholarly reputation of international standing. S/he should develop research compatible with the research agenda of the School and of national and EU funding strategies. S/he is expected to have a track record of sustained peer-reviewed publications and will have a record of fostering a culture of teaching and research excellence. Applicants should have relevant teaching experience enabling them to develop and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The successful appointee is expected to develop the research profile of Palaeontology and to build partnerships with colleagues both within the School and externally to obtain funding for support of PhD students and other researchers.

Please note that Garda vetting and/or an international police clearance check may form part of the selection process.

For an information package including full details of the post, selection criteria and application process see https://ore.ucc.ie/.   The University, at its discretion, may undertake to make an additional appointment(s) from this competition following the conclusion of the process.

Informal enquiries can be made in confidence to Professor Andy Wheeler, Tel: 021 490 4577, Email: a.wheeler@ucc.ie. Further information on the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences please visit http://www.ucc.ie/en/bees

UCC is committed to creating and fully embracing an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated.  As a University we strive to create a workplace that reflects the diversity of our student population where people from a wide variety of backgrounds learn from one another, share ideas, and work collaboratively. UCC is committed to being an employer that recognises the value of diversity amongst its staff.  We encourage applicants to consult our policies at https://www.ucc.ie/en/edi/policies/ and initiatives at https://www.ucc.ie/en/edi/implementation/ and we welcome applications from everyone, including those who are underrepresented in the protected characteristics set out in our Equal Opportunities & Diversity Policy.

Appointment may be made on the Lecturer Salary Scale: €34,748 – €61,370 (Scale B) / €36,658 – €58,397 (Scale A)

Salary placement on appointment will be in accordance with public sector pay policy.

Applications must be submitted online via the University College Cork vacancy portal (https://ore.ucc.ie/). Queries relating to the online application process should be referred to recruitment@ucc.ie, quoting the job-title.

Candidates should apply, in confidence, before 12 noon (Irish Local Time) on Tuesday, 13^th July 2021.

No late applications will be accepted.

 

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER

Please note that an appointment to posts advertised will be dependent on University approval, together with the terms of the employment control framework for the higher education sector

Maria spoke about the history of feathered dinosaurs. Please click here or the image below to access the podcast!

 

Here we use taphonomic experiments to show that the chemistry of melanosomes from different tissues converges during maturation – in particular, Cu signals become more homogeneous. Fossils with uniform or widespread elevation in Cu were probably diagenetically altered and don’t preserve original melanosome chemistries. This is potentially a new way of testing whether fossils are relatively unaltered in terms of their chemistry.

The study was published today in the journal Geology.

Rossi, V., Webb, S.M., McNamara, M., 2021. Maturation experiments reveal bias in the chemistry of fossil melanosomes. Geology, 49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/G48696.1.

Maria was awarded almost €300K in funding from SFI as part of their Discover scheme to fund public engagement initiatives.

Her funded project, “Ireland’s Secret Past: unlocking our Fossil Heritage” will expand the work from the pilot project of the same name which ran from Jan – Dec 2019.

This project will build on an extremely successful SFI-funded pilot project to exploit palaeontology, a critical gateway science, to enhance understanding and perceptions of STEM in Ireland. The project will reach out to thousands of Irish children and adults via hands-on, digital and interpersonal formats that encourage hypothesis-testing and active kinaesthetic learning. Bespoke resources tailored to Irish fossils will complement a novel national network of urban fossil trails. A ground-breaking interactive exhibit hosted at national and regional science fairs will showcase Irish fossils and incorporate cutting-edge technology previously inaccessible to the public. Workshops will be delivered to schoolchildren around the country via videolink and/or in person. Collaborations with artists will encourage the public to engage with fossils in new ways through workshops, creation of an exhibition and e-book and art competitions. Other national events include public lectures, a touring photography exhibition and a vote for Ireland’s favourite fossil, promoting palaeontology, and STEM more broadly, as topics of national importance. The project will reach out to women and girls, and residents of disadvantaged communities, direct provision centres, offshore islands, and counties with little STEM intervention. Impact will be measured using qualitative and quantitative means, integrated into key activities at predetermined stages of the project, including statistics on website- and social media interaction, interviews, workshops, surveys, poster exercises and quizzes. By raising the profile of palaeontology, this project will inspire curiosity in our ancient past at a national scale, ultimately reforming national science curricula and stimulating pursuit of STEM careers.

As of 2021 we are expanding the programme to the whole country and with exciting new activities! We are looking for project partners so please get in touch by contacting Maria (maria.mcnamara@ucc.ie) or Naomi (naomi.oreilly@ucc.ie). For more information click here or check the project’s dedicated website here.

Article can be accessed here or via clicking on the image below.

Author Helen Gordon interviewed Maria about her work on palaeo colour and it is now part of the new book “Notes From Deep Time”, published today. The book delves into Earth’s life-story, from London’s fossils and ancient rocks that are billions of years old, to hidden volcanoes and plate tectonics.

Read more about the book here: https://profilebooks.com/work/notes-from-deep-time/.

It can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788161637.

Please click here or on the image below to access the article, written by Maria, Tiffany and Valentina.

Fossil pigments shed new light on vertebrate evolution

UCC palaeontologists have discovered new evidence that the fate of vertebrate animals over the last 400 million years has been shaped by microscopic melanin pigments.

This new twist in the story of animal evolution is based on cutting-edge analyses of melanin granules – melanosomes – in many different fossil and modern vertebrates, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Melanin and melanosomes have traditionally been linked to outermost body tissues such as skin, hair and feathers, with important roles in UV protection and stiffening of tissues. Analyses of where different animals store melanin in the body, however, show that different vertebrate groups concentrate melanin in different organs, revealing shifts in how animals have used melanin over the last 400 million years.

The study, published today in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, was led by UCC palaeontologists Prof. Maria McNamara, Dr Chris Rogers, Dr Valentina Rossi and PhD student Tiffany Slater, with an international team of evolutionary biologists from Switzerland.

“Most studies of fossil melanin have focussed on melanin in fossil feathers and skin, and what colours ancient animals had,” said study leader Prof. McNamara. “By comparing melanin in different animals – how much melanin they have, where in the body it occurs, what melanin type and composition is present – and by studying fossils, we discovered new evidence for changes in the functions of melanin through deep time.”

The research shows that amphibians and reptiles concentrate melanin in internal organs, where it supports the immune system and stores metals. In birds and mammals, however, almost all melanin occurs in hair and feathers. This difference has an unexpected source – evolution of the immune system and of warm-blooded lifestyles.

“There are pros and cons to having melanin in the body,” said team member Dr Rossi. “Melanin is hugely beneficial, but it also generates free radicals, which are harmful. This creates a major problem for animals.”

During the evolution of hair and feathers, mammals and birds evolved more sophisticated immune systems than in amphibians and reptiles. This meant that large amounts of melanin were no longer necessary in internal organs. Melanin storage then shifted to hair and feathers, which are dead tissues, thereby removing harmful metals and free radicals from living body parts.

“Melanin is a two-sided coin,” said Prof. McNamara. “It’s useful, but toxic. Birds and mammals basically came up with an ingenious solution during the early Triassic – pump melanin into new, outer, dead skin tissues that were evolving at the time. This set the scene for the evolution of the incredible diversity of plumage and fur patterning which we see today.”

The study also shows that key genes can be mapped onto colour patterns in fossils, tracking the genetic evolution of melanin through time, and that animals preferentially use less toxic forms of melanin. “There’s still a lot about melanin genetics and physiology that we don’t understand,” said Dr Ducrest of Lausanne University. What’s clear, however, is that the fossil record is a valuable source of information that we can use going forwards.”

The study is published today in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

McNamara, M.E., Rossi, V., Slater, T.S., Rogers, C.S., Ducrest, A.-L., Dubey, S., Roulin, A., 2021. Decoding the Evolution of Melanin in Vertebrates. TREE, published online 3/2/2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2020.12.012.

Dr Maria McNamara, Dr Valentina Rossi and Tiffany Slater spoke (as Gaeilge!) about dinosaurs and their footprints on this evening’s episode of “Is Eolaí Mé” on TG4. Maria also explained a little bit more about dino colours and her favourite dinosaur! Click the link here or the image below (their feature starts at 14:40!) to watch.

Please click here or on the image below for the link: