Matthew Heinicke, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology; Chair, Biological Sciences Discipline
Matthew Heinicke
College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters
Natural Sciences
313-593-5037

Teaching Areas:

Biological Sciences, Master of Science in Environmental Science, Microbiology

Research Areas:

Evolutionary Biology, Herpetology

Biography and Education

  • Pennsylvania State University, Biology, Ph.D., 2009

Dr. Heinicke joined UM-Dearborn in 2012. Current focal areas of research include the systematics and biogeography of amphibians and reptiles in southwestern Africa (including Angola, Namibia, and South Africa), evolution of gliding in geckos, and phylogeny of New World direct-developing frogs. His research combines field, museum, laboratory, and computational approaches. Undergraduate and M.S.E.S. graduate students interested in research opportunities are encouraged to email Dr. Heinicke for more detailed information.

Selected Publications

  • Heinicke, M.P., T.R. Jackman, and A.M. Bauer. 2017. The Measure of Success: geographic isolation promotes diversification in Pachydactylus geckos. BMC Evolutionary Biology 17: 9 (17 pp.).
  • Heinicke, M.P., C.L. Barrio-Amorós, and S.B. Hedges. 2015. Molecular and morphological data reveal a new genus of New World direct-developing frog (Anura: Terrarana) from an under-sampled region of South America. Zootaxa 3986:151–172.
  • Heinicke, M.P., J.D. Daza, E. Greenbaum, T.R. Jackman, and A.M. Bauer. 2014. Phylogeny, taxonomy, and biogeography of a circum-Indian Ocean clade of leaf-toed geckos (Reptilia: Gekkota), with a description of two new genera. Systematics and Biodiversity 12: 23–42.

Awards and Recognition

  • Taylor and Francis award for outstanding paper published in 2014, Systematics and Biodiversity (for “Phylogeny, taxonomy, and biogeography of a circum-Indian Ocean clade of leaf-toed geckos (Reptilia: Gekkota), with a description of two new genera.”)
  • Alumni Association Dissertation Award, Pennsylvania State University, 2009