Appointments

• Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
• Chair, College of Medicine Curriculum Committee

Bio

I am an organismal biologist with broad interests in understanding the developmental and evolutionary biomechanics of the mammalian locomotor system.

More specifically, I investigate the morphological and mechanical factors that constrain locomotor performance in mammals, and how these constraints determine the ecological capabilities of an organism across multiple time scales (i.e., over evolutionary time, developmentally during ontogeny, and instantaneously to accomplish a task at hand).

Research interests

Research in my lab focuses on evolutionary, comparative and developmental aspects of mammalian locomotion. Our work is question-driven and is focused on two topics:

• the biomechanics of arboreal locomotion, particularly in primates, and
• the interaction between musculoskeletal growth and locomotor development.

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 2009
• Ph.D., Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, 2008
• B.A., Psychology, Indiana University
• B.A., Anthropology, Indiana University

Courses

• Course Director, Body and Brain, M1 – College of Medicine

Activities

• Associate Editor – Journal of Human Evolution
• Associate Editor – PeerJ Life and Environment

Awards

• 2020 Outstanding Faculty Research Award, NEOMED
• 2015 Junior Faculty Award, NEOMED