On March 23, 2012, Dr. Kimberly Cooper, from Harvard Medical School, visited the Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and conducted academic exchange. She presented a report on “Hindlimb specialization and the evolution of bipedalism in the three-toed jerboa” to the researchers and students from Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG), CAS.

Dr. Kimberly Cooper introduced the allometric growth of animals and their adaptations to the special environment from the levels of gene, molecule, cell, organization and individual. In the report, she discussed the research method of genetics, cross-disciplinary study of genetics and behavioral science with the participants. After the presentation, Dr. Kimberly Cooper visited the key laboratory of CAS and the herbarium of XIEG. 　　

Dr. Kimberly Cooper comes from the Tabin Lab of Harvard Medical School, and the laboratory has published several papers in some top journals, such as Cell, Nature and Science. This academic exchange promoted the communication of the Tabin Lab and XIEG, and established basis for close scientific cooperation in the future.