For Immediate Release Contact: Pat Kremer/Nancy O’Shea (312) 665-7100 (For Media Use Only) NOVEMBER “Genetic Biodiversity” Featured Scientist Kevin Feldheim, Ph.D. Biologist and Manager, Field Museum’s Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution Kevin Feldheim is a biologist and manager of the Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution, a state-of-the-art research facility dedicated to the genetic analysis and preservation of the world’s biodiversity. Genetic analyses of plants and animals in the lab lead to a better understanding of relationships among different populations in endangered habitats, helping to shape conservation plans. Feldheim studies the ecology and evolution of the lemon shark by analyzing the genetic diversity of shark populations in Brazil, the Bahamas, and the Florida Keys. More than 10 feet long, the lemon shark is one of the large coastal sharks identified as being over-fished and in need of a conservation strategy. The Pritzker Laboratory provides scientists from around the world with the tools and techniques for constructing the family trees of organisms from fungi and flowering plants to birds and primates. Since Feldheim became lab manager in 2001, the research lab has hosted researchers from such far-flung destinations as China, India, and South Africa. Students from the nearby campuses of the University of Chicago and University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) also utilize the laboratory for research projects on Amazonian birds, Philippine bats, and Indochinese frogs. Several new species have been discovered through genetic analyses in the laboratory, including a new species of Brazilian flycatcher found by Field Museum biologist John Bates, Ph.D. Continue