Alessandro Minelli (born 20 December 1948) is an Italian biologist, formerly a professor of zoology in the Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences of the University of Padova, mainly working on evo-devo subjects.
Alessandro Minelli studied Natural Sciences at the University of Padova 1966–70 with a master's degree in 1970.
[3][4][5][6][7] In his search for an intellectual framework common to evolutionary biology and developmental biology, he has strongly argued against the widespread adultocentrism,[3] that is, interpreting development, in a more or less distinct teleological vein, as a process targeted to the production of an adult animal or plant.
At variance with the most popular trend in evo-devo, which is based on comparative developmental genetics and has a clear focus on early stages of embryonic development, the approach defended by Minelli is strongly rooted in comparative morphology and aims to extend to postembryonic development.
[11][12][13] Minelli has also explored the implication of evo-devo for biological systematics,[14][15] speciation[16] and the evolution of life cycles.