Dr. Michael Novacek's studies concern patterns of evolution and relationships among organisms, particularly mammals. His interests have ranged from paleontological evidence to new data on DNA sequences. He has led paleontological expeditions to Mexico, Chile, and Yemen in search of fossil mammals and dinosaurs. He is one of the leaders of the ongoing American Museum of Natural History/Mongolian Academy of Sciences expeditions to the Gobi Desert. In 1993, Dr. Novacek was one of the discoverers of the Gobi's Ukhaa Tolgod, the richest Cretaceous fossil vertebrate site in the world. Dr. Novacek was instrumental in establishing the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute for Comparative Genomics, and new research program in astrophysics.