Jennifer Baker is interested in studying the evolutionary relationships of early hominins. Her main interests are in phylogenetic systematics and the genotypic and phenotypic evolution of complex characters. Read more →

Amy is interested in how the human brain makes and uses energy differently from that of other primates. Read more →

Serena Bianchi’s research focuses on the evolution of the human brain and cognition. In particular, she is interested in adopting a comparative neuroanatomy approach to investigate the origins of higher cognitive functions such as language and social cognition. Read more →

Habiba Chirchir studies trabecular bone remodeling in human and non-human primates, hominins and other mammals that have similar adaptations to humans with the aim of interpreting locomotion in the hominin record. Read more →

Andrew Du is interested in the ecological context of hominin evolution. He uses a paleolandscape approach which involves broad spatial scale analyses with a restricted time component. Read more →

Kevin Hatala is interested in postcranial functional morphology and the evolution of human gait. Specifically, he is interested in combining experimental biomechanical studies with analyses of the fossil record to better understand the evolutionary history of human locomotion. Read more →

Chrisandra Kufeldt’s interests include anatomical variation in the postcrania of Pliocene hominins and the phylogenetic relationship of early Homo species, specifically the hominin fossils Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis. Read more →

Kate McGrath is interested in the diet, development and life history of fossil and living primates. Specifically, she is interested in analyzing the dental microstructure of mountain gorillas to examine the effects of environmental and behavioral variables, such as stress and diet, on life history and development. Read more →

Jordan Miller’s research is broadly aimed to understand the evolution of human behavior through the study of great apes, particularly chimpanzees. She is interested in competition and the proximate mechanisms through which individuals increase reproductive success. Read more →

David Patterson is interested in using mammalian fauna to reconstruct the ecological and environmental context of hominin evolution. Due to the complexity of both modern and paleoecosystems, this requires the use of a variety of multidisciplinary proxies, some of which include: functional morphology, isotopic dietary analyses and community structure investigation. Read more →

Vance Powell is interested in functional anatomy and post-cranial morphometric comparisons of early hominins and archaic Homo sapiens. Future research interests may include the role of diet and foraging strategies on the evolution of hominin functional morphology.

Kathryn Ranhorn’s interests include the origins of modern human behavior and the dispersal of early modern humans out of Africa.  As an archaeologist, her area of focus is East Africa during the Middle Stone Age. She is also interested in examining the genetic variation of modern genomes to reconstruct migratory events over the past 200,000 … Read more →

Liz Renner is interested in changes in cognition that occurred over the course of human evolution, especially those pertaining to language, theory of mind, and the navigation of social relationships. Read more →

Laura Reyes is interested in brain evolution and using comparative mammalian neuroanatomy to better understand the development of unique cognitive capabilities in primates. Read more →

Kes Schroer’s research interest is premolar variation, particularly in Paranthropus. She is using an extant primate model to research the morphological integration and developmental processes at work in the molarization of the fourth premolar. Read more →

Cassandra Turcotte is interested in the functional anatomy of the hominid skeleton, particularly as it relates to the reconstruction of ancient behaviors such as locomotion through signatures of morphological and mechanical variation in bone. Read more →

Amelia Villaseñor is interested in using a variety of paleoecological indicators such as stable isotopes, microwear, and functional morphology of large mammal teeth in conjunction with geology to determine whether climate change is correlated with the dietary shifts of the faunal communities from hominin localities. Read more →

Kaitlin Wellens is interested in the social behavior and ecology of nonhuman primates as a tool to better understand our own social behavior and evolution. Read more →

Andrew Zipkin is an archaeologist with research interests including the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of Central and East Africa, provenance geochemistry, remote sensing and GIS, experimental archaeology, and the origins of behavioral modernity. Read more →