ROM Curator Jean-Bernard Caron is a “Science Superstar” and “Big Thinker”

Don’t take our word for it, that’s what The Grid weekly says.

This week’s cover story in The Grid, a popular Toronto news and entertainment weekly, features “Big Thinkers… 10 young science superstars.” Among the impressive roster is the ROM’s own Jean-Bernard Caron, who they describe as “the champion of unsung invertebrates (also, a bike nut).” 

It is no wonder he caught the eye of The Grid’s editors. In his role as the Museum’s Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology, Jean-Bernard, 38, has emerged as the foremost Canadian expert on the Burgess Shale, located in BC’s Yoho National Park. Arguably the world’s most important fossil site, it contains beautifully preserved evidence of ancient marine life dating back more than 500-million years. Based on extensive work there, Jean-Bernard and his team made a major splash last year when they identified Pikaia gracilens as the earliest-known ancestor of all vertebrates, including humans. And, oh, it is also true that indeed he is an avid all-season cyclist.

For more on Jean-Bernard, check out his biography, and to learn more about the extraordinary work being done in the Burgess Shale, visit our dedicated site, created in conjunction with Parks Canada. Or check out this 16-minute video, in which Jean-Bernard presents a fossil collection from the Burgess Shale. And of course, here is a link to the article in The Grid.

While you are there, also in The Grid this week is a full-page story titled "Five Things We Learned at the ROM's Biodiversity Labs," featuring Dave Ireland, Managing Director of ROM Biodiversity, providing a “tour of the fascinating—and occasionally disgusting—goings-on inside.”