Dr. Henry Tsai

Details

Education

• Post-Doc, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2018, Brown University
• PhD, Integrative Anatomy, 2015, University of Missouri
• BS, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2010, University of California-Irvine

Teaching

• BMS 307 Human Anatomy
• BMS/OTE 645 Clinical Gross Anatomy

Previously taught

• BMS 307 Human Anatomy
• BMS 582/682 Embryology
• BMS/OTE 645 Clinical Gross Anatomy
• BMS/PAS 717 Medical Human Anatomy and Radiology

Professional experience

Publications

• Egawa, S., C. T. Griffin, P. J. Bishop, R. Pintore, H. P. Tsai, J. F. Botelho, D. Smith-Paredes, S. Kuratani, M. A. Norell, S. J. Nesbitt, J. R. Hutchinson, and B.-A. S. Bhullar. 2022. The dinosaurian femoral head experienced a morphogenetic shift from torsion to growth along the avian stem. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 289:20220740. Royal Society.
• Tsai, H. P., K. M. Middleton, J. R. Hutchinson, and C. M. Holliday. 2020. More than one way to be a giant: Convergence and disparity in the hip joints of saurischian dinosaurs. Evolution, doi: 10.1111/evo.14017.
• Tsai, H. P., M. L. Turner, A. R. Manafzadeh, and S. M. Gatesy. 2019. Contrast-enhanced XROMM reveals in vivo soft tissue interactions in the hip of Alligator mississippians. Journal of Anatomy. doi:10.1111/joa.13101
• Tsai, H. P., K. M. Middleton, J. R. Hutchinson, and C. M. Holliday. 2018. Hip joint articular soft tissues of basal Dinosauromorpha: evolutionary and biomechanical implications for Saurischia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 37(6), doi: 10.1080/02724634.2017.1427593
• Gignac, P. M., N. J. Kley, J. A. Clarke, M. W. Colbert, A. C. Morhardt, D. Cerio, I. N. Cost, P. G. Cox, J. D. Daza, C. M. Early, M. S. Echols, R. M. Henkelman, A. N. Herdina, C. M. Holliday, Z. Li, K. Mahlow, S. Merchant, J. Müller, C. P. Orsbon, D. J. Paluh, M. L. Thies, H. P. Tsai, and L. M. Witmer. 2016. Diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT): an emerging tool for rapid, high-resolution, 3-D imaging of metazoan soft tissues. Journal of Anatomy, 228: 889–909. doi: 10.1111/joa.12449
• Tsai, H. P. and C. M. Holliday. 2015. Articular soft tissue anatomy of the archosaur hip joint: Structural homology and functional implications. Journal of Morphology. 276:601-630
• Holliday, C. M., H. P. Tsai, R. J. Skiljan, I. D. George, and S. Pathan. 2013. A 3D interactive model and atlas of the jaw musculature of Alligator mississippians. PLoS One, 8(6), e62806. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0024935
• Tsai, H. P. and C. M. Holliday. 2011. Ontogeny of the alligator cartilago transiliens and its significance for sauropsid jaw muscle evolution. PLoS ONE 6(9): e24935. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0024935

Research and professional interests

Dr. Tsai is a comparative anatomist and paleontologist. His research program focuses broadly on the evolution of vertebrate locomotion, with a particular interest in sauropsids (reptiles, birds, and extinct forms such as dinosaurs). The aim of his research is to understand the mechanical functions, kinematics, and developmental significance of appendicular joints in vertebrates.

• Morphological convergence and disparity in vertebrate limb joints during body size evolution
• Evolution of the sauropsid (reptilian) limb joints and its significance to locomotor postures
• Evolution and ontogeny of vertebrate connective tissues
• Mechanical behavior and physiology of vertebrate joint soft tissues
• Visible Anatomy: Contrast-enhanced soft-tissue staining and imaging technique

Conference Presentations

• Tsai, H. P., M. L. Turner, A. R. Manafzadeh, and S. M. Gatesy. 2018. Significance of hip kinematics for interpreting articular soft tissue function in Alligator mississippiensis. Annual Meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology.
• Tsai, H. P., K. M. Middleton, and C. M. Holliday. 2017. The cartilage cone of archosauromorphs: implications for hip loading and femoral ossification. Annual Meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology.

Invited Presentations

• Tsai, H. P. 2018. Dinosaur joints: Soft tissues are the hard issues. California State University San Bernardino. Visiting Research Seminar Series,

Community Outreach

• 2018. Science on the Silver Screen: Godzilla (2014). Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT.
• 2010-14. MU Adventures in Education: a grade K-12 level presentation on vertebrate functional anatomy.

Awards and honors

• Edwin H. and Margaret M. Colbert Student Poster Prize, 74th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2014
• 1st Place, Life Sciences Research Week, University of Missouri, 2013
• Doris O. and Samuel P. Welles Research Award, 2012
• Jackson School of Geosciences Travel Grant, 2011

Additional resources

• Research website