INVITED SPEAKERS
Xing Xu
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology,
the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Dr. Xing Xu is a Director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society of London and an Honorary Research Associate at the Natural History Museum, London. His area of expertise is the systematics of Mesozoic dinosaurs in Asia. Recently, his research has been focusing on the evolution and development of feathered dinosaurs and the origin of birds. He has described more than 40 new dinosaur species discovered in various parts of China and the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.
Philip Currie
University of Alberta, Canada
Dr. Philip J. Currie has published over 160 scientific papers, including descriptions of more than 20 dinosaur species.
His fieldwork spans North America, Mongolia, China, Argentina, and Antarctica. He served as an advisor for the establishment of the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum and has since contributed as a visiting researcher in both research and exhibitions. Notably, he co-authored the scientific paper on Fukuiraptor, a symbolic dinosaur of Fukui, making significant contributions to dinosaur research in the region for nearly 30 years.
Lawrence Witmer
Ohio University, U.S.A.
Dr. Lawrence M. Witmer is a Professor of Anatomy and Chang Ying-ChienProfessor of Paleontology at Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University. Renowned for pioneering the use of CT analyses and 3D visualization in dinosaur paleontology, he leads the WitmerLab, which investigates the functional anatomy of extinct and extant vertebrates. His research focuses on reconstructing soft tissues in dinosaurs and other archosaurs to understand their physiology and behavior.
Elena Cuesta
Bavarian State Collections of Natural History, Germany
Dr. Elena Cuesta is a Research Assistant at the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology in Munich (Germany). She has been honored with fellowships from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Marie Skłodowska‑Curie program under the European Commission.
Her research seeks to understand theropod dinosaur evolution, combining detailed anatomical studies, phylogenetic analyses, and functional morphology. At present, she is studying theropod dinosaur specimens from
the Early Jurassic of Patagonia (Argentina), expanding insights into dinosaur evolution in southern Gondwana.
Lindsay Zanno
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, U.S.A.
Dr. Lindsay Zannois a Head of Paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and an Associate Research Professor at NC State University, specializing in theropod dinosaurs and the origin of birds. She Zannohas discovered and named over a dozen new dinosaur species and leads major projects like the Dueling Dinosaurs exhibit. Zannoalso serves as President of The Jurassic Foundation and contributes to several scientific journals.
Suravech Suteethorn
Mahasarakham University, Thailand
Dr. Suravech Suteethorn is a paleontologist at Palaeontological Research & Education Centre, Mahasarakham University. His work has played a key role in documenting dinosaurs and other vertebrate fossils from Khorat Plateau, northeastern Thailand, greatly contributing to our understanding of the dinosaur fauna in southeast Asia.
Soichiro Kawabe
Fukui Prefectural University, Japan
Dr. Soichiro Kawabe is a vertebrate paleontologist and expert in paleoneurology, specializing in the comparative anatomy of brains and nerves within the skulls of fossil vertebrates using X‑ray CT analyses. His research has illuminated adaptation and specialization of a number of extinct archosaurs to reconstruct their biology and ecology.