My
research is in the fields of paleoanthropology and primate
functional morphology and evolution. A particular interest
is in how the forelimb has evolved to meet the functional
demands of locomotion and manipulation in early hominins
(humans and our close fossil relatives) and other primate
lineages. My dissertation project is focused on the biomechanical
adaptations of the wrist to the various locomotor hand postures
used by primates, especially the knuckle-walking locomotion
of the African apes. Understanding adaptations to knuckle-walking
is essential for testing the hypothesis that bipedal hominins
evolved from a knuckle-walking ancestor.
My
research is highly interdisciplinary. To address my questions,
I employ a variety of bioengineering and computer science
approaches to study the comparative anatomy and biomechanics
of the forelimb in primates and other animals.
