Linda Holland

Linda Zimmerman Holland is a research biologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography known for her work examining the evolution of vertebrates.

[1] Linda Holland has described in detail some of the early obstacles she faced as a woman scientist starting out in academe in the 1960s and 1970s, [3] Holland's early research examined anatomical structures in purple sea urchins,[4][5] and a protein involved in clotting, Von Willebrand factor.

[9] Holland began collecting amphioxus in Tampa, Florida in 1988,[10] which enabled her to use them as a model system to study evolutionary biology.

[14] Her research also addressed the evolution of bilaterian animals as in her 2013 Holland et al.[15] publication (see image).

[17] This award also includes being named an honorary member of the Saint Petersburg Society of Naturalists.

Image of different body plans in a cnidarian from Holland et al.'s 2013 paper
A typical cnidarian polyp, a generalized protostome, hemichordate and chordate and their phylogenetic relations are shown. Special attention is given to nervous systems and neural structures of the respective animals (Holland et al. 2013)