Dr Michael Rose: 1938 – 2025

Michael D. Rose (born February 18th , 1938) died on March 12, 2025 in Glenwood, New Mexico. Mike was a loving husband, devoted stepparent, friend to many, beloved by his colleagues, and a mentor to multiple generations of students.

Mike was a graduate of Cambridge University earning a BA (1961) and an MB, Bchir. (1966). He went on to earn his PhD (1973) at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London under the renowned anatomist and primatologist John Napier. Mike’s PhD focused on field studies of primate locomotion, exploring thoroughly for the first time the range of variation in quadrupedalism, which remains one of his defining and seminal contributions. At the same time, like his advisor, he connected behaviour with anatomy. Over several years, while publishing key behavioural research, he shifted more fully to primate functional anatomy—connecting behaviour to skeletal form and mechanics—and began to address questions of behavioural inference in extinct primates and patterns of human evolution. In 1976, Mike proposed a novel perspective on the evolution of bipedalism, based on insights he would explore further in later papers. In 1983, he published a field-defining article about how to interpret pre-human fossils, and he continued to produce a steady flow of high-quality publications over the next thirty-five years. Mike served as a mentor to many students and faculty and was a sought-after speaker, giving thought-provoking talks that challenged students to think beyond simple form-function relationships and explore more difficult and subtle questions about how we reach conclusions in science and make meaning from data.

Mike served as a Lecturer from 1970 to 1975 at the University of Nairobi. He came to the United States to join the faculty of the Anatomy Department at Yale University from 1975-1982. In 1982, he joined the faculty at The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he stayed until 2004. There he was the Course Director for Gross Anatomy. After 2004, he was an adjunct faculty member at The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Duke University. Mike was beloved by his students and received teaching awards in 1984, 1985, and 1986. Mike was also a mentor to many students and served on multiple committees at other universities.

It is for his academic publications, philosophical contributions, and passionate teaching that he will be long remembered.

Mike is survived by his loving wife and partner of 56 years, Cordelia Rose of Glenwood, New Mexico and stepchildren Rupert and Anna.