Born in 1965, since 2014 he has been Associate Professor of Zoology at the Department of Biology of the University of Padova (Italy). In 1991 he graduated in Natural Sciences at the University of Padova, with a thesis on the self-similar structure of taxonomic diversity. In 1996 he got a PhD in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Padova with a thesis on segmentation in geophilomorph centipedes. From 1997 until 1999 he has been working as a post-doc at the Department of Biology, University of Padova, on the morphogenesis of tegumentary structures in lithobiomorph centipedes. From 2002 to 2014 he was Assistant Professor of Zoology (Ricercatore) at the Department of Biology of the University of Padova. G. Fusco’s work is in the area of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). His main activity concerns the morphological evolution and post-embryonic development of arthropods, with a focus on the role of segmentation in the Chilopoda and the extinct Trilobita. In parallel, he has been working on more theoretical issues in evolutionary biology, like the relationship between developmental constraints and natural selection, the mathematical modeling of evolutionary dynamics, and the evolution of life cycles. Results of his work have been presented at several international congresses and have been published in journals such as BioSystems, Journal of theoretical Biology, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Evolution & Development, The American Naturalist, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Journal of Experimental Zoology, Development Genes and Evolution, Paleobiology, Arthropod Structure & Development, Evolution, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. He is editor of the volumes ‘Evolving Pathways: Key Themes in Evolutionary Developmental Biology’, (Cambridge University Press; 2008), 'From polyphenism to complex metazoan life cycles' (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 2010), 'Arthropod biology and evolution. Molecules, development, morphology' (Springer Verlag, 2013) and 'Perspectives on Evolutionary and Developmental Biology' (Padova University Press, 2019). He is author of the graduate textbook 'The Biology of Reproduction' (Cambridge University Press, 2019) and the popular science book 'Understanding Reproduction' (Cambridge University Press, 2023). G. Fusco teaches Evolutionary Biology at the University of Padova.

Curriculum PDF File

Evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) Arthropod development and evolution Theoretical evolutionary biology

Research projects proposed by the student in the area of a arthropod evolutionary biology do be developed with morphometric techniques. Research projects proposed by the student to be developed at institutions, parks, museums. Contact the teacher.

Last update: 16/08/2024