Sandy Kawano, an assistant professor of biology at George Washington University, received a National Science Foundation Career Award to research the evolutionary biomechanics of salamander locomotion. The research aims to understand how bones evolved to support the loads imposed by aquatic vs. terrestrial environments over time. The project will look at how the habitat and life stages of salamanders impact the strength of their bones and how well they can move around.
Kawano’s topics of expertise include comparative biomechanics and physiology, functional morphology, water-to-land transition in vertebrate evolution, natural selection and musculoskeletal function.