The Zoological staff investigates animal and protist diversity in an evolutionary framework. Population genetics and molecular phylogeography of vertebrates are carried out for purpose of conservation and management of investigated species, relying also on ancient DNA analyses of specimens resident in museum collections, and with special attention for the forensic science and the development of molecular tools to tackle poaching activity. Both naturalistic and biotechnological approaches are used for studying taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships of protist ciliates, with a specific focus on symbiotic associations and the production of biologically active compounds. 

The Anthropology staff investigates natural history of the human species and his bio-cultural diversity under an evolutionary framework and an interdisciplinary perspective. They investigate the adaptive and demographic dynamics of extinct and modern human populations at different levels of the biological scale through the most innovative analytical and bioinformatics tools. The research activity is performed in the frame of granted projects supported by national and international networks.

Research lines are highly differentiated:

• Biodiversity and systematics (taxonomy and phylogeny) of ciliated protists
• Characterization, genomics and ecology of symbiosis between protists and bacteria
• Applied environmental microbiology
• Molecular evolution, conservation genetics, museum and forensic DNA of vertebrates
• Ecology and cultural adaptations of prehistoric human populations
• Human evolutionary genomics
• Morphological and functional evolution of human and non-human primates
• Set-up of genetic markers for eco-ethological studies
• Primate population genetics

Staff of the Zoology-Anthropology Unit:

Full Professors:
Giulio Petroni

Associate Professors:
Filippo Barbanera
Giovanni Boschian
Graziano Di Giuseppe
Sergey Fokin
Damiano Marchi
Sergio Tofanelli
Claudia Vannini

Researchers:
Letizia Modeo
Antonio Profico

TA Staff:
Sonia Cammellini
Fabrizio Erra
Francesco Paolo Frontini
Simone Gabrielli
Monica Guerrini
Michele Melai
Luca Taglioli

Here you can find the address.