He has worked on many kinds of animal species, including reptiles and amphibians, rodents, ungulates, spiders, and humans.
During this period, he expanded his research to functional themes, including studies of kinetics, and kinematics.
Their recorded value of 20 Newtons of force for two front limbs[3] for a Tokay gecko was a starting point for a large body of research on bioadhesion and synthetic production of gecko setae, which has captured significant attention in the public eye.
[4] In 2012, he, together with colleagues from the University of Massachusetts published a paper[5] describing the invention of "Geckskin", which shows some elements of the anatomy of geckos, and for which a 100 cm2 piece can hold up to 700 lb on a smooth surface, yet can be peeled off with little effort, which was widely covered in the popular media[6] In 2004, he, along with several other colleagues, completed a study showing that rapid evolution (36 years) of a major body part (a cecal valve of the intestinal tract in Croatian squamates can occur, apparently due to invasion of a novel island habitat.
[7] This study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008, has been presented as evidence for evolution in modern times.
A comparative analysis of the ecological significance of locomotor performance in Caribbean Anolis lizards.
Overcoming an evolutionary conflict: Removal of a reproductive organ greatly enhances locomotor performance.
Herrel, A., Huyghe, K., Vanhooydonck, B., Backeljau, T., Breugelmans, K., Grbac, I., Van Damme, R., Irschick, D. J.
Rapid large scale evolutionary divergence in morphology and performance associated with the exploitation of a novel dietary resource in the lizard Podarcis sicula.