About

Peter Makovicky is a paleontologist whose research aims to understand the patterns and processes of macroevolution using the fossil record, with an emphasis on Mesozoic vertebrates. He addresses questions related to the diversity and relationships of theropods, including feathered dinosaurs that give rise to birds, and how anatomical changes during growth affect our understanding of dinosaur evolution and diversity patterns over space and time. His projects include studying the repeated evolution of herbivory in dinosaurs, the evolution of structures such as the frill in horned dinosaurs, and how geological events influenced the evolution and biogeography of fossil vertebrates, including biotic responses to sea-level, orogenic, and climate changes in the Western Interior Basin, as well as the response of Antarctic vertebrates to the end-Permian extinction event. Makovicky's broad interests encompass all paleontological disciplines, and he has conducted research in biochronology, biostratigraphy, trace fossils, biomechanics, and modeling body size, growth, and scaling in fossil vertebrates. His research involves fieldwork across the globe, with active programs in Argentina, China, Antarctica, and the United States.

Research topics

• Environmental health
• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Evolutionary biology
• Biology
• Paleontology
• Ecology
• Mathematics

Selected publications

• New anatomical observations on the anatomy and disparity of <i>Bonapartenykus ultimus</i> (Coelurosauria, Alvarezsauria, Patagonykinae) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia

  Historical Biology · 2026-03-17

  article
  PublisherDOI

• When the levee breaks: experimentally testing dinosaur and mammal bone transport in unsteady flows

  Paleobiology · 2026-01-12

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Bones preserved in fluvial sediments make up the majority of the terrestrial vertebrate fossil record, and unsteady flows (overbank floods, levee breaches, debris flows, etc.) are often invoked as agents of bone transport and burial. Experiments exploring transport of mammal bones under steady-state flow led to the development of Voorhies Groups, which are used as indicators of winnowing and transport at fossil sites. Some studies have raised concerns about the use of transport groups beyond the scope of the original experiments, especially regarding untested taxa and flow conditions. Here we investigate transport of hadrosauroid dinosaur bone models and modern sheep bones in experimental sheet floods. We find that evolving flow dynamics in unsteady flows can influence bone mobility behaviors. Factors such as bedforms and interactions with other bones caused shorter transport distances than might be expected in some elements, which would be heightened in real flooding situations where trapping mechanisms are common. Our hadrosauroid bones sorted into two statistically significant groups and one overlapping intermediate group based on transport distance. However, those groups could not be identified among sheep bones. Distributions of transport distances in both taxa do not fully match predictions based on Voorhies Groups. Our results indicate that Voorhies Groups do not quantitatively apply to all potential fluvial settings and taxa, and we thus advise caution in interpretations of fossil site taphonomic history based on Voorhies Groups. Further exploration of variables underlying bone transport and burial may allow for more broadly comparative examinations of fluvial biostratinomy.

  PublisherDOI

• Effects of Selected Cereal Concentrates and a Gluten-Free Diet on Ovarian, Testicular, and Thyroid Gland Morphology.

  PubMed · 2026-03-13

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Gluten-free diet is currently recommended for people with gluten-related diseases; however some studies document their positive effects also in other diseases. Oppositely gluten is often vilified in nutrition, but serious results about their negative effects in healthy are missing, or controversial. The objective of this study is to compare the effects of different types of diets on ovarian, testicular, and thyroid morphology in an experimental mouse model. Forty-eight (n=48) laboratory mice of the BALB/c line were included in the experiment, divided into 4 groups, and maintained on special diets for 5 weeks. The control group, (6 females, 6 males) was fed a gluten-free diet. The first (E1), second (E2) and third (E3) experimental groups, (6 females, 6 males) were fed a mixture of casein hydrolysate combined with E1: pure extracted gluten in a 30 %:70 % ratio. E2: gliadins at a ratio of 30 %:70 % and E3: avenin at a ratio of 30 %:70 %. At the end of the experiment, the mice were euthanized and ovaries, testes, and thyroid glands were sampled. The samples were fixed in a 10 % formalin solution and processed into hematoxylin-eosin-stained slides. The oocyte and follicle widths of the ovaries were measured; as well as the germinal epithelium and the width of the seminiferous tubules of the testes; as well as the follicle epithelium width and the follicle width of the thyroid gland. The results showed significant differences in the width of oocytes, follicles, testicular seminiferous tubule epithelium, testicular tubules, thyroid follicle epithelium as well as differences in the width of thyroid follicles. Concentrated gluten and gliadin-based diets showed positive results compared to concentrated avenin and gluten-free diets. On the basis of animal experiment using histological methods, it seems that gluten may not be for healthy population harmful and is not recommended to be avoided outside groups of people with gluten-related disorders. Key words Celiac disease " Gluten " Non-celiac gluten sensitivity " Cereals o Nutrition.

  Publisher

• Genetic attenuation of <scp>ALDH1A1</scp> increases metastatic potential and aggressiveness in colorectal cancer

  Molecular Oncology · 2026-02-03 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Colorectal cancer ranks third in global incidence and second in cancer mortality. Patient-derived models are irreplaceable for studying tumor biology. We established a human epithelial cell line from a rectal adenocarcinoma overexpressing cancer stem cell marker ALDH1A1, and we investigated the effect of ALDH1A1 knockout on tumor cell traits. The cell line and its CRISPR-Cas9 ALDH1A1 knockouts were characterized by genomic and cytogenetic methods (CNV, WES, RNAseq, karyotype), in vitro (proliferation, response to chemotherapy, migration, invasion, apoptosis), and in vivo methods. We identified the landscape of somatic mutations and copy number alterations in the original tumor and the derived cell line. Genetic attenuation of ALDH1A1 was characterized by an increase in migratory potential and extensive metastatic ability, accompanied by reduced growth of subcutaneous xenografts and alterations in gene expression associated with inhibited proliferation and promoted invasion and metastasis, ultimately resulting in dysregulation of the Wnt signaling pathway. Increased metastatic potential was also confirmed in HT-29 cells after ALDH1A1 genetic attenuation. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated editing led to functional, cellular, and molecular changes confirming the role of ALDH1A1 in colorectal cancer carcinogenesis.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• LATS2 kinase integrates Hippo signalling with PPARγ repression to control brown adipocyte thermogenesis and systemic energy balance

  Research Square · 2026-01-13

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Combined action of suicide gene exosomes from pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts and from mesenchymal stem cells as a pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma treatment approach

  Cancer Cell International · 2025-12-20 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: The pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts (pCAFs) are among the most active components of the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The pCAFs being of mesenchymal stem/stromal cell origin, interact directly with tumor stromal elements, modulate tumor development, and are involved in the formation of pre-metastatic niches that result in unsatisfactory PDAC treatment outcomes. This study aimed to develop an innovative approach for the treatment of desmoplastic pancreatic carcinoma via intracellularly targeted exosomes derived from pCAFs and from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transduced with the suicide gene - yeast cytosine deaminase::uracil phosphoribosyl transferase (yCD::UPRT). METHODS: pCAFs were isolated from four PDAC tumor specimens and MSCs from various tissues. Their transduction with yCD::UPRT gene produce homogenous gene transduced cell populations capable of secreting suicide gene exosomes. Both gene- transduced and naive cells and their exosomes underwent characterization by biophysical, biochemical, microscopic, and LC-MS/MS proteomic methods. Tumor cell-killing functionality was assessed using three pancreatic cancer cell lines. The killing efficacy of combined suicide gene exosomes of MSCs and pCAFs was measured in a mixture of pCAFs and MIA PaCa-2 cells as a simulated desmoplastic pancreatic tumor in vitro. RESULTS: MSCs and pCAFs suicide gene exosomes act as cancer cell-targeted drugs, effectively killing pancreatic carcinoma cells. Exosomes intracellular convert the non-toxic prodrug 5-fluorocytosine into cytotoxic 5-fluorouracil and its metabolites in a dose-dependent manner. In experiments simulating the desmoplastic microenvironment of PDAC, we have found that the suicide gene exosomes from both cells conjugated with prodrug effectively target and inhibit the growth of simulated PDAC. CONCLUSION: Exosomes containing the yCD::UPRT gene from pCAFs and MSCs function as "Trojan horse" therapies, efficiently and dose-dependently eliminating pancreatic cancer cells. PDAC environment-targeted yCD::UPRT-gene exosomes from MSCs and pCAFs show promise for a novel PDAC treatment.

  PublisherDOI

• REFINED GEOCHRONOLOGIC FRAMEWORK OF THE EARLY CRETACEOUS NONMARINE WESTERN INTERIOR BASIN

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• The tumor immune microenvironment as a target for nano-therapies and patient-tailored treatments.

  South East European Journal of Immunology · 2025-03-25 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Cancer is a complex illness with local to systemic expression. Cancer cells in relation with the constitutive components of the tissue from which they develop and the immune system elements, that interact with them to ablate the cancer cells and promote tissue repair, form the tumor microenvironment. The interactions between all these elements decide the tumor evolution either toward its elimination (inflammation, immune recognition and direct cytotoxicity) or its establishment and progression (inversion of the immune response, chronic and smoldering inflammation, immune cell exhaustion and establishment of an immune suppressive and tissue remodeling environment). The alteration of the tissue collagen scaffold influenced by the immune environment continuous modifications collaborates to impede adequate access to immune cells and drugs and solicitate epithelial to mesenchymal transition allowing metastatic cell behavior. Under these conditions, the altered immune environment can bias the efficacy of the treatments and favor the tumor heterogeneity. Many therapeutic approaches were developed, from surgery to chemo- and radiotherapy until the recent advances in immunotherapy. However, if the therapeutic approach is systemic, sensible side effects can accompany the treatment because of the involvement also of non-tumoral tissues. Therefore, from the last years of the XX century, a progressive interest and improvement in technical possibilities started to focus on targeting therapies using monoclonal antibodies (e.g. against cellular pathways, growth-factors, immune check-point molecules) and/or organic/inorganic nano-constructs (e.g. ferritin-based, iron-based nanoparticles) studied for directly affect the cancer cells or other microenvironment components (immune cells). Focusing the intervention to the pathological component and selectively foster the anticancer response is the aim of modern oncology. In this presentation, we will highlight some of our observations done on components of the microenvironment favoring the tumor escape and our experience of tumor targeting by nanoparticles in experimental models looking to achieve more tumor and antigen specific treatments for enhancing the anti-cancer immune response, possibly with a patient-tailored approach. Acknowledgements: we thanks the support by Institutional Grant RVO 61388971 (CZ), GAAV IAA500200917 (CZ), AZV NU23-08-00071 (CZ), MEYS CR (Large RI Project LM2018129 Czech-BioImaging), ERDF (project No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/18_046/0016045) and the project National Institute for Cancer Research (Programme EXCELES, ID Project No. LX22NPO5102) - Funded by the European Union –Next Generation EU, Generali Ceska Pojistovna Foundation (CZ), UniCredit Bank (CZ), SIAD s.r.o. (ITA/CZ), GITCO s.r.o (CZ), CONTAS s.r.o (CZ), CAMIC a.s. (CZ)

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Food Restriction Induces Changes in Ovarian Folliculogenesis, Cell Proliferation, Apoptosis, and Production of Regulatory Peptides in Rabbits

  Animals · 2025-04-30

  articleOpen access

  The aim of this study is to examine the influence of food restriction on rabbit ovarian functions. A total of eight females were fed ad libitum (NF), while eight females were subjected to 50% food restriction (RF). One month later, all females were euthanized. Weights and lengths of ovaries and uterine horns were measured. Representative parts of the ovaries were subjected to histomorphometry analysis of folliculogenesis. Granulosa cells were isolated and cell viability, proliferation (accumulation of PCNA, cyclin B1, and BrdU-positive cells), apoptosis (accumulation of bax, caspase 3, and DNA fragmentation) were evaluated. Granulosa cells were subjected to proteomic analysis by using the nano HPLC-Chip-MS/MS method. Estradiol and progesterone release by ovarian and granulosa cells was assessed by ELISA. Ovarian and uterine horn weights were lower in RF than NF. The diameter of follicles and oocytes and the thickness of the theca and granulosa cells were higher in RF than NF. RF showed a lower percentage of cells containing bax and caspase 3, occurrence of DNA fragmented cells, and estradiol and progesterone. RF had higher incorporation of BrdU, a higher proportion of cells containing PCNA and cyclin B1, and a lower percentage of viable cells. RF produced more specific proteins than NF, including peptides involved in cell differentiation, proliferation/division, mitotic cell cycle, and GTP-ase activity. In conclusion, food restriction can activate reproduction by (1) selection of the growing primordial follicles, (2) better transformation of secondary to preovulatory follicles, (3) increasing growth of oocytes, (4) increasing proliferation and decreasing apoptosis in granulosa cells, (5) changes in ovarian secretory activity, and (6) changes in the number of peptides.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Aurora kinase A inhibition as a synthetic lethality strategy in ARID1A-mutated gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma

  Cancer Letters · 2025-09-16 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Understanding the Evolution of High-latitude Permo-Triassic Paleoenvironments and their Vertebrate Communities.

  NSF · $61k · 2019–2021

• New Research on the Mesozoic Vertebrate Faunas of the Beardmore Glacier Region, Antarctica

  NSF · $213k · 2009–2013

• Collaborative Research: Understanding the Evolution of High-latitude Permo-Triassic Paleoenvironments and their Vertebrate Communities.

  NSF · $130k · 2016–2019

• Collaborative Research: The Role of Development and Life History Traits in the Evolution of Ceratopsian Dinosaurs

  NSF · $99k · 2004–2010

• ATOL: Collaborative Research: Archosaur Phylogeny- A Total Evidence Approach at Fine Taxonomic Levels

  NSF · $94k · 2002–2009

Frequent coauthors

• E. Tůmová

  Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

  42 shared

• Jacqueline M. Arnone

  38 shared

• Gabriel Samaşcă

  Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy

  32 shared

• Radislav Sedláček

  Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Molecular Genetics

  27 shared

• Mark A. Norell

  26 shared

• Mária Makovická

  24 shared

• Lindsay E. Zanno

  North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

  21 shared

• I. Svecova

  Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Molecular Genetics

  18 shared