The origin of jawed vertebrates represents that last major overhaul of vertebrate anatomy in our deep evolutionary ancestry. Our research sought to better understand the gradual changes in the organisation of the head through this formative episode in evolutionary history. We achieved this chiefly by elucidating the anatomy of the head of a group of extinct fossil fishes called the galeaspids which reflect the nature of the immediate ancestors of jawed vertebrates. 

　　Developmental biologists had been working in parallel to solve the same problem, but by comparing the embryology of living jawless and jawed vertebrates, hoping to explain the difference between these two evolutionary grades of organisation in terms of changed temporal and spatial domains of expression of regulatory genes. They concluded that jawless vertebrates lack jaws because the migratory cells from which jaws develop are prevented from migrating to the site of jaw development by the peculiar nose that sits in the middle of the face of jawless vertebrates. By virtue of the synchrotron tomography beamline, we show that in galeaspid‘Shuyu’ – and by implication, the ancestor of jawed vertebrates - the paired nasal organs had separated, removing this nasal blockage, but since galeaspids lacked jaws, it was presumably the consequence of a different selective drive, most likely enhanced olfaction.  

    The significance of our work is underlined by the fact that our first paper has been published in the world-leading journal Nature. In less 3 years, the work of Shuyu has been cited 30 times, among which 4 times come from Nature paper, 16 times come from molecular and developmental paper. The work of Shuyu was also selected into textbooks 《Vertebrate Palaeontology》（Fourth edition）,《History of life》(Fifth edition) , and the cover story of 《New Scientist》.

    2012. 10   Awards for Scientists from Economically Developing Nations, awarded by Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP), 72th Annual Meeting, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, October 17-20, 2012.

　　2012.10   Travel Awards and Excellent Poster Award, awarded by the Asia-Pacific Developmental Biology Network (APDBN), Asia-Pacific Developmental Biology Conference (APDBC 2012), Taipei, Taiwan, October 05-08, 2012.  

　　2011.3   Open Funds of Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates. 

    2008.7   SYNTHESYS: the European Union-funded Integrated Activities Grant, short-term academic visit the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France (worked with Professor Philippe Janvier).

　　2008.1    Travel Fellowship for the The 15th Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) Meeting : Advances in Cyclostome Research: Body plan and developmental programs before the jawed vertebrates, Kobe, Japan, January 24-25, 2008. 

　　2007.8    Travel Awards from the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP 491) for the 40th anniversary Symposium on Early Vertebrates/Lower Vertebrates, Uppsala, Sweden, August 13-16, 2007. 

　　2007.7    Alumni Award of the University of Bristol for the 8th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology (ICVM 8), Paris, France, July 16-21, 2007. 

　　2006.4    Dorothy Hodgkin Postgraduate Awards (DHPA) from the Royal Society, United Kingdom. 

　　2005.10  Outstanding Paper Award, the 2nd National “Geological and Resource” Graduate Forum, China University of Petroleum (CUP), Dongying, Shandong Province. 

　　2005.6    Di’ao Scholarship awarded by Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS). 

　　2004.3    Training Funds of Special Program of National Basic Sciences. 

　　2003.6    Outstanding Graduate Student Award awarded by University of  

Chinese Academy of Sciences

PUBLICATIONS 

　　GAI Z. K., Zhu M., (2013). Application of micro-CT in the research on Paleozoic fishes. Chinese Bulletin of Life Sciences, 25(8):779-786. 

　　Gai, Z. K., Donoghue, P. C. J., Zhu, M., Janvier, P. and Stampanoni, M. ,(2011). Fossil jawless fish from China foreshadows early jawed vertebrate anatomy. Nature 476: 324-327. 

　　Gai, Z. K., Zhu, M., (2012). The origin of the vertebrate jaw: intersection between developmental biology-based model and fossil evidence. Chinese Science Bulletin 57, (30): 3819-3828. 

　　Gai Z. K., Zhu M, (2005). A new genus of eugaleaspids (Galeaspida, Agnatha) from the Silurian of Anji, Zhejiang, China. Vert PalAsiat, 43(3):165-174. 

　　Gai Z. K., Zhu M, (2007). First discovery of Huananapidae from the Xishancun Formation (Lochkovian, Devonian) of Yunnan, China. Vert PalAsiat, 45(1): 1-12. 

　　Gai Z. K., Zhu M, Zhao W J, (2005). New material of eugaleaspids from the Silurian of Changxing, Zhejiang, China, with a discussion on the eugaleaspid phylogeny. Vert PalAsiat, 43(1):61-75. 

　　Wang J Q, Gai Z. K., Zhu M, (2005). A new species of Macrothyraspis (Galeaspida, Agnatha) from Wenshan, Yunnan, China. Vert PalAsiat, 43(4): 304-311. 

　　Zhu M, Gai Z. K., (2006). Phylogenetic relationships of Galeaspids (Agnatha). Vert PalAsiat, 44(1): 1-27. 

PHD DISSERTATION 

　　Gai, Z. K., 2012: The cranial anatomy of Galeaspida (Agnatha) and the origin of jawed vertebrates. A dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Bristol,1-453.  

ABSTRACT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 

   Gai Z. K., Zhu, M. 2012: The origin of the vertebrate jaw: intersection between developmental biology-based model and fossil evidence. The SVP 72st Annual Meeting, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, October 17-20, 2012. (Abstract was selected as one of the Featured Abstracts for the Special Press Release) 

　　Gai Z. K., Donoghue P. C. J., Janvier P., 2011: The true trabeculae cranii in stem-gnathostome Galeaspids (Agnatha). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 31: 177A.  The SVP 71st Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, November 2-5, 2011.  

　　Gai, Z. K., Donoghue, P. C. J. and Zhu, M., 2007: X-ray microtomographic studies of exceptionally preserved three-dimensional galeaspid endocranium of the Silurian of South China. Journal of Morphology 268 (12 ):1075-1075 (SCI). The 8th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Paris, France, July 16-21, 2007. 

　　Gai, Z. K., Donoghue, P. C. J., Zhu, M., Janvier, P. and Stampanoni, M., 2010: Cranial anatomy of 400 Ma jawless fish from China throws new light on precursors of jawed vertebrates. The 3rd International Palaeontological Congress (IPC), London, UK, June 28 – July 3, 2010.  

　　Gai, Z. K., Donoghue, P. C. J., Zhu, M., Janvier, P. and Stampanoni, M., 2008: The X-ray ray microtomographic studies of galeaspid endocranium shed new light on the origin of paired nostrils and jaw. The 15th CDB Meeting Advances in Cyclostome Research: Body plan and developmental programs before the jawed vertebrates. Kobe, Japan, January 24-25, 2008. 

    Gai, Z. K., Donoghue, P. C. J. and Zhu, M., 2007: X-ray microtomographic studies of ray microtomographic studies of galeaspid endocranium from China. The 40th anniversary Symposium on Early Vertebrates/Lower Vertebrates, Uppsala, Sweden, August 13-16, 2007.