Meike Köhler first came to the Institut de Paleontologia de Sabadell in 1983, to study fossil material during a short stay. By then, she was associate professor at the Hamburg University (Germany), where she was working on her PhD dissertation on fossil bovids from Turkey. One thing led to another, and in 1983, after defending her PhD, she came back to Sabadell. For many years, she actively collaborated with Moyà-Solà in the study of fossil primates and evolution under insularity conditions. Their most important discoveries during the 1990s were focused on the Miocene site of Can Llobateres, where the find of a partial skeleton of the hominoid Hispanopithecus had a great impact on the media. However, their studies on the insular fossil ape Oreopithecus were also very impactful during the late 1990s and the early 2000s.
She tenured at the Institut de Paleontologia M. Crusafont by winning a vacant position in 2000. From then onward, the took the role of principal investigator in research projects focused on mammal evolution under insularity conditions, while she progressively distanced herself from primate-based research. This notwithstanding, in 2003 she codirected with Moyà-Solà the excavation of the skeleton of the Miocene ape Pierolapithecus, whose description was published in 2004 with a great international impact and ultimately led to the establishment of the ICP.
In 2005, she won an ICREA research professor position that allowed her to join the Anthropology Unit of the UAB in the spring of 2006 and, finally, the ICP, once refounded later that year. From the beginning, Köhler assumes the leadership of the Evolutionary Paleobiology (later on, Life History Evolution) research group, which she established from scratch. Convinced that paleohistology is the most powerful method for deciphering, within the framework of life history theory, the selection pressures that underpin the patterns of insular evolution, she devoted all her efforts to establish a Paleohistology Lab and consolidate her own research group. From the latter, she supervised several PhD dissertation and directed various research projects, further leading the publication of multiple papers in high-impact journals that received several awards.
The innovative and eminently paleobiological line of research driven by Prof. Köhler was of upmost importance for positioning the ICP as a benchmark paleobiological research center at the international level. Her legacy will endure in the future, not only because of her publications, but also through the line of research that she initiated, which is strategic for the ICP and will be pursued further for years to come. Moreover, during the four decades that she has been linked to our center, her vocational passion for research has been a source of inspiration for multiple colleagues and students.
Even though a new phase begins, Prof. Köhler will continue to be affiliated to the ICP as researcher emerita. This will allow us to keep on enjoying her expertise, which undoubtedly will contribute to consolidate even further her line of reseach in the future. From the ICP, we would like to sincerely acknowledge her commitment during all these years and wish her the best of luck in this new stage in her life.
Main image: Professor Meike Köhler in a recent archive photo (photo: ©ICREA)
