Barbara Fischer is an evolutionary biologist and scientific group leader for evolutionary biology at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research. She is also affiliated with the University of Vienna, where she works as a researcher and lecturer.

Her research combines theoretical and empirical approaches and centers on the classical problem of adaptation versus constraint in evolution: Why are some traits easily adapted by evolution, while others are not?

More recently, Barbara's research has focused on the evolution of human anatomy from an evolutionary medicine perspective, particularly the evolution of childbirth in humans. She investigates how such a difficult birth process could have evolved and why it has persisted despite the high mortality and morbidity associated with it.

She is also a dedicated teacher who enjoys communicating science and writing for non-scientific audiences.

Keywords: Evolution of childbirth, Evolutionary medicine, Biostatistics, Evolutionary theory, Science communication