I am a Ph. D. student in physical anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. My interests include primate functional morphology, evolutionary shifts in locomotor anatomy, and early hominin paleobiology.

I am especially interested in structural adaptations of the hominin foot that accompanied the evolution of bipedalism. To this end, my dissertation research will focus on understanding the range of pedal morphological variation that can exist within a given function and/or behavior (e.g., bipedal locomotion), as well as the range of functions and/or behaviors that are possible given a particular pedal morphology. More generally, I am interested in the functional anatomy and evolution of the medial longitudinal arch and the relationship between arch structure and bipedal kinetics.

My other areas of interest include: the relationship between sensory adaptations and locomotor performance; the relationship between primate ranging behaviors and locomotor energetics; and the evolution of primate quadrupedal kinematics and kinetics.

Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Liza J. Shapiro