Interdisciplinary research on hemichordate evolution

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Where do we come from? What is our ancestry? My research program is focused on evolution of the deuterostomes, that major division of the animal tree of life that includes the vertebrates (and man). Deuterostomes consist of three major phyla: the echinoderms (sea urchins, sea cucumbers and their cousins), hemichordates (acorn worms and pterobranchs) and chordates (including the vertebrates). My greatest interest is in deep events within deuterostome evolution, including the question - what was the nature of the basal deuterostome? My studies have suggested that the ancestral deuterostome may have resembled an enteropneust hemichordate worm. My research program uses a multidiscipinary approach, including organismal and molecular biology, fluid mechanics, and paleontology to test this hypothesis.