My PhD project, illustrated.

This is a drawing I did back in February.  In a way it represents my PhD project, which examines the evolution of the six-layered cerebral cortex, or neocortex.  This extensive forebrain structure, found only in mammals, is thought to be responsible for the advanced cognitive skills associated with humans.  Even though only mammals have a neocortex, our lab (and others, although it's controversial) maintains that key neocortical cell types are present in non-mammalian amniotes, like birds and other reptiles, but are arranged into different anatomical patterns. For example, in mammals these cell types are organized into layers, but in birds they are organized into large aggregates of cells, called 'nuclei'.  So I love this picture of a monkey hugging a pigeon, and here's the dialog I imagine:

Monkey: "Hey pigeon, we are not so different."
Pigeon: "I know.  Cut it out with this mammal-centric approach to cognition.  A 'bird brain' is nothing to be ashamed of!"
Monkey: "There, there." [pat pat]
Pigeon:  "Coo."