Lindsay E Zanno PhD
Dr. Lindsay Zanno is a vertebrate paleontologist and evolutionary biologist with a passion for exploration and demystifying science. She is the visionary behind the Dueling Dinosaurs experience at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.
Lindsay Zanno's research focuses on discovering non-avian dinosaurs—Earth's dominant terrestrial life during the Mesozoic Era—and their stories in deep time. Her lab uses frontier approaches to tackle complex evolutionary and ecological questions, including the drivers of key innovations, life-history strategies, trophic ecology, and the connections between biodiversity and climate dynamics.
Zanno has authored more than 100 scientific manuscripts, 200 abstracts, two popular books, and more than 20 other popular publications. Her research has earned international recognition, including Smithsonian Magazine’s Top 10 Dinosaur Discoveries, Discover Magazine’s Year in Science, Top Dinosaur Discoveries, and Top 100 Science Stories, and Nature World News’ Top Dinosaur Stories. She received the Eighteenth International Award in Palaeontological Research (Paleonturology 20), along with two Nature Publishing Group Top 100 Author recognitions and an Editor’s Favorite honor. To date, she has been awarded more than $20 million in collaborative funding for research and engagement. In 2026, she received the North Carolina Award for Science, the state’s highest civilian honor for scientific achievement.
Exploration is at the heart of Zanno’s research. Each year, she and her teams venture into remote regions around the globe in search of new species. To date, she and her collaborators have named more than 15, including the bird-like theropods Talos sampsoni and Hagryphus giganteus, scythe-clawed therizinosaur Nothronychus graffami, megapredator Siats meekerorum, North America’s tiniest tyrannosaur Moros intrepidus, and Nanotyrannus lethaeus, one of the last tyrannosaurs to roam Earth. Her discoveries have been featured in more than a dozen documentaries by the Science Channel, History Channel, National Geographic, PBS, NHK, NOVA, and BBC.
Committed to strengthening trust between science and society, Zanno champions transparency, inclusivity, and public access to scientific discovery. In 2012, she founded Expedition Live!, pioneering the use of livestreams and social media to connect the public directly with paleontologists in the field. Since then, she has served as Science Advocate for Walking With Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular, hosted The Ice Age traveling exhibition, and appeared regularly on CBS Sunday Morning, Today, Saturday Disney, and NPR. Her research has been featured in more than 2,000 media stories, and she is frequently sought for expert commentary on paleontology. Today, she shares the excitement of discovery with audiences nationwide as a National Geographic Live! speaker. Her commitment to public engagement has earned NC State’s Alumni Outstanding Engagement Scholarship and Outstanding Engagement awards, as well as induction into its Academy of Outstanding Faculty in Extension and Engagement.
Zanno’s vision for accessible science culminated in SECU DinoLab and the Dueling Dinosaurs experience at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences—the world’s only open-access paleontology laboratory. Opened in 2024, the initiative brings active scientific research into public view through interactive exhibits, a live-streamed research laboratory open to visitors, and Cretaceous Creatures, a participatory science program that engages middle school students in the discovery and identification of microvertebrate fossils. Dueling Dinosaurs has already received multiple awards and nominations, including recognition from the SEGD Global Design Awards, the National Association for Interpretation’s Interpretive Media Awards, and the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s inaugural Excellence in Education and Outreach Award. For her vision and leadership, Zanno received the 2024 Thad Eure, Jr. Memorial Award from the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Beyond research and public engagement, Zanno is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists. In 2020, she received NC State’s Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor Award. She also founded and co-directs the Paleosciences Peer Mentoring Program, which provides structured support for early-career researchers and helps break down barriers that can make scientific careers feel inaccessible.
Based in North Carolina, Zanno holds a joint appointment as Associate Research Professor in the College of Sciences at North Carolina State University and Head of Paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Her academic achievements have earned her honorary appointments at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the Natural History Museum of Utah, the Sam Noble Museum in Oklahoma, Stellenbosch University, and the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. For the past eight years, she has served as President of The Jurassic Foundation, a public nonprofit grant-making organization that supports dinosaur research worldwide. Under her leadership, the foundation has awarded approximately $1 million in grants to emerging researchers, helping launch the next generation of dinosaur scientists.