American Association of Biological Anthropologists

@bioanth.org

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The American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA) is a professional organization for biological anthropologists. See website for more info! 💻 bioanth.org

AABA Community Partnerships Committee The Community Partnerships Committee was established in 2025 to move the AABA Task Force Report on the Ethical Study of Human Remains from a set of recommendations into practice. Our charge is to build a care framework in which descendant communities and communities of care are recognized as decision-makers in teaching and research using human remains. Our work is focused in four areas. We are creating a standardized, secure inventory process and accompanying guidance to support ethical stewardship of collections; identifying pathways for descendant community engagement, including mechanisms for outreach and participation; developing a process for community-informed evaluation of research proposals; and we are building a reviewer pool that reflects both disciplinary expertise and community perspectives. Together, these efforts are meant to support a shift in how research with human remains is conducted, toward models grounded in transparency, accountability, and shared authority. The committee is planning a workshop at the 2027 AABA Annual Meeting to share these tools and invite broader input. We welcome questions, feedback, and participation at communitypartnership@bioanth.org
New AABA Fund to support COD IDEAS! Support a powerful new initiative today, and your gift can go twice as far! Through the generosity of Dr. Susan Antón, the COD IDEAS fund has been established, and she is committed to matching contributions dollar-for-dollar, up to $30,000. This opportunity to amplify your impact will make a meaningful difference in support of the IDEAS (Increasing Diversity in Evolutionary Anthropological Sciences) Program. The IDEAS Program was an initiative aimed at recruiting, retaining, and supporting scholars from systematically marginalized groups (SMGs) within biological anthropology. Central to its activities at the AABA annual meetings was the IDEAS Workshop, which allows undergraduate and graduate students from SMGs to connect with faculty and postdoctoral mentors to build community, receive career guidance, and foster professional development. Evaluations consistently show that participants value the Program for enhancing their sense of belonging and reinforcing their interest in the discipline. Since 2016, the program has supported more than one hundred undergraduate and graduate students. Please donate by going to https://bioanth.org/donate/.
AABA Meeting in Philadelphia As I step into the role of Vice President and Program Chair, I am honored by the trust you have placed in me, but also aware of the high bar set by outgoing VP, Dr. Amy Rector. I look forward to building on the strong foundation laid by my predecessors and working collaboratively with the Executive Committee and Burk, Inc. to continue delivering impactful, current, and engaging programming. AABA’s outreach efforts extend far beyond our annual conference. I invite all members to share ideas for webinars, workshops, and other learning opportunities. Your suggestions will help ensure our programming reflects the interests, expertise, and needs of our diverse community. Finally, a quick look ahead: submissions for invited symposia for the 2027 Philadelphia conference will open in just a couple of months, and we know how quickly those months will pass. I encourage you to begin having conversations and developing ideas for symposia and workshops. To ensure the Philadelphia program meets the highest standards of excellence and professionalism, the Executive Committee is implementing new safeguards for our submission and review processes. Stay tuned for updates concerning these enhancements. I look forward to the year ahead and to hearing from you. Michelle Singleton AABA Vice President & Program Chair vicepresident@bioanth.org
AABA Outstanding Student Presentation Awards: • Serena Finger, “Social gradients in brain structure and their molecular underpinnings in rhesus macaques” • Allison McCoskey, “Perceived Age Factor: a new age estimation method for old adults” • Catherine Roberts, “The root of the issue: identifying taphonomic changes in teeth at early postmortem intervals” • Federico Sanchez Vargas, “CapuchinAI 1.0: development of a machine learning based touchscreen paradigm to test primate cognition in the wild” Patricia Whitten Prize: Md. Mehrab Hasan, “Home range size and social organization of western Hoolock gibbons in the Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh” Mildred Trotter Prize: Lauren Hayden, “The association between vertebral neural canal dimensions and catch-up growth in medieval Giecz, Poland” AAA-AABA Anatomy in Anthropology Prize: Grace Calhoun, “Using 3D printing to investigate the mechanical significance of trabecular bone architectural variables” Journal of Human Evolution Prize: Ben Rodwell, “Inferring activity pattern of fossil primates based on relative maxillary depth” Honorable Mention Prizes: • Anik Chhoker, “Evaluating the function of sunbathing behavior in captive ring-tailed lemurs” Nadine Steer, “Comparative architecture and functional adaptation of thumb musculature in Homo, Pan, Sapajus, Papio, and Colobus”
Contact your representatives in Congress to advocate for Science If you are not sure who your representatives are, please go to https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/map and enter your address. When you reach out, the recommendation is to focus on one issue, keep it brief, personalize the call/letter (noting that you are a constituent), and being courteous but firm. If your representative’s phone number is not listed online, you can dial the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to ask to be connected to your Senators and Representative Post widely on social media and write op-eds If you attended the op-ed webinar in the fall or wrote one as part of the Politzer travel award, please think about sending one to your local paper! Also, please share your support of NSF on social media and use the hashtags #WithoutNSF #WithoutNSFsbe, or #WithoutScience Example language: “#WithoutNSF my [program] won’t receive the critical funding it needs to continue [doing what we do] in my community.” Other Hashtags to use: #SupportNSF #SaveNSF #ISupportNSF and #ISupportScience
AABA Workshop. Navigating Academic Landscapes: Innovations, Challenges, and Networks in Biological Anthropology Across Institutional and Modal Contexts. Friday 20 March 2026 9:00 AM-12:00 PM/Governor's Square 16. A QR code is provided, along with the notation that registration is free and attendees should bring writing materials. Workshop Goals and Outcomes include: build cross-institutional collaborations and networks, contribute to a collaborative AJBA synthesis manuscript, develop practical strategies for teaching, ethics, accessibility, mentorship, and research sustainability, share effective pedagogical and research approaches across institutions, leave with clear next steps for collaboration and shared scholarly outputs. Organized by Malorie Albee (malbee@nmu.edu) and Madelyn Green (mgreen56@cscc.edu).
Clark Spencer Larsen, The Ohio State University. Dr. Larsen has been a preeminent scholar in the field of bioarchaeology over the past 45 years. He established the use of biomechanical analysis as an essential method for behavioral reconstruction. He is also known for his research on human adaptive transitions, as well as his mentorship, teaching, and service to the field.
Gabriel W. Lasker Service Award 2026. Lyle Konigsberg, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Over the course of his decades of service to the AABA, Dr. Konigsberg has served in many roles including Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, and as the Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook. In addition to service to AABA, he has served section H of the AAAS and the FBI Scientific Working Group for Disaster Victim Identification, and is a dedicated mentor to colleagues and students.
2026 AABA and Leakey Foundation Communications and Outreach Award in Honor of Camilla Smith. Himani Nautiyal, Howard University. Dr. Nautiyal has been involved in research (as founder and director of the Himalayan Langur Project) and community engagement in the Garhwal Himalayas. She uses YouTube, Instagram, and documentary film to educate and unite science, traditional ecological knowledge, and visual storytelling to convey the realities of human–wildlife coexistence, conservation, and climate change.
2026 Mid-Career Service Award: Doug Boyer, Duke University. Dr. Boyer is recognized for his efforts to create and maintain the MorphoSource repository for digital 3D data. This publicly available community resource has revolutionized the study of primate morphology and fostered open science in biological anthropology and beyond.
Katherine Amato, 2026 Mid-Career Research Award. Dr. Amato combines primatological, physiological, and microbiome data to address questions about how the microbiome functions and interacts with different hosts and environments to affect fitness and health. She has also developed and assessed methods for obtaining data from non-invasive samples from wild primates.
A flyer with a blue and white background. Text reads: AABA Webinar Series Tracing forgotten histories: identifying unprovenienced human skeletal remains and establishing best practices for their ethical treatment. 11 December, 2025 at 12:00pm EST. Many teaching and museum collections house human remains with little or no provenience, creating major challenges for ethical stewardship. This webinar, inspired by last year's AABA workshop, brings together experts who have successfully reconstructed documentation for unprovenienced remains. Panelists will share practical methods--archival research, handwriting analysis, osteology, taphonomy, and more--and discuss collaborative strategies for navigating these complex cases. Join us to connect, learn, and build community around this critical work. Speakers: Chris Dudor (National Museum of Natural History), Siân Halcrow (Durham University), Chip Colwell (Sapiens), Celisse Fricker-Chilcote (University of Kentucky). Organizers: Alyson Caine (James Madison University), Irene Hochgraf-Camerom (University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology), Karen Weinstein (Dickenson College).
Square graphic with beige background with circles on it. AABA logo centered at the top. In the middle is a pink-ish square with this text overlain: "Giving Tuesday. Your donation supports: student travel awards, student presentation awards, AABA eat." At the bottom of the graphic is the link to donate: bioanth.org/donate. The graphic displays to hands exchanging a heart in the upper left and in the lower left, a drawing of a loris on a branch.
Flyer with blue background and speaker and organizer images in circles: Chris Dudar, Sian Halcrow, Chip Colwell, Celise Fricker-Chilcote, Alyson Caine, Irene Hochgraf-Camerom, Karen Weinstein. AABA logo in top right corner. Text: AABA WEBINAR SERIES TRACING FORGOTTEN HISTORIES: IDENTIFYING UNPROVENIENCED HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS AND ESTABLISHING BEST PRACTICES FOR THEIR ETHICAL TREATMENT 11 DECEMBER, 2025 AT 12:00 PM EST Many teaching and museum collections house human remains with little or no provenience, creating major challenges for ethical stewardship. This webinar, inspired by last year’s AABA workshop, brings together experts who have successfully reconstructed documentation for unprovenienced remains. Panelists will share practical methods—archival research, handwriting analysis, osteology, taphonomy, and more—and discuss collaborative strategies for navigating these complex cases. Join us to connect, learn, and build community around this critical work.
Herman Pontzer pictured from the shoulders up wearing a black polo shirt and facing the camera, standing in front of blurred out trees
Orange and yellow graphic with white text box. Heading: AABA 2025 SAT. WORKSHOPS. Listed below is a list of workshops: Is it rare? Make it F.A.I.R.! Hands-on workshop on cooperative research approaches to the study of ancient rare diseases, 8:00-9:30am, registration requested Teaching about race, racism, and human variation: video and related teaching resources, 9:00-11:00am Tracing Forgotten Histories: Identifying Unprovenienced Human Skeletal Remains and Establishing Best Practices for their Ethical Treatment, 2:00-6:30pm At the bottom of the graphic is a tinyurl link: tinurl.com/aaba2025workshops
Orange and yellow graphic with white text box. Heading: AABA 2025 FRI. WORKSHOPS. Listed below is a list of workshops: Zombie ideologies in biological anthropology: confronting undead ideas around genetics, behavior, and race, 8:00-10:00am Disabled and neurodivergent community, perspectives, and identity in biological anthropology, 10:30am-12:00pm, registration requested Submitting and reviewing for the AABA Journal, 2:00-3:30pm Indigenous knowledge and evolutionary science: bridging knowledge systems in biological anthropology, 4:00-6:00pm At the bottom of the graphic is a tinyurl link: tinurl.com/aaba2025workshops
Orange and yellow graphic with white text box. Heading: AABA 2025 THURS. WORKSHOPS. Listed below is a list of workshops: Challenges in open science and data sharing in biological anthropology worldwide, 2:30-6:00pm, registration requested COD-AACT: Staying HIP: using high impact practices in teaching bioanthropology, 2:45-4:45pm Biological anthropology is people: an art, culture, and science engagement exhibition, 4:30-7:00pm Make learning magical: gamification in college level coursework, 5:00-6:30pm At the bottom of the graphic is a tinyurl link: tinurl.com/aaba2025workshops
Orange and yellow graphic with white text box. Heading: AABA 2025 WED. WORKSHOPS. Listed below is a list of workshops: Building broader impact, 9:00am-12:00pm COD-WIN: Empowering women leaders in biological anthropology, 1:00-4:00pm CSViewer for Analysts 2.0, 1:00-5:00pm What happens to my grant proposal? A peek into the peer review process through mock review! 1:00-5:00pm, registration required At the bottom of the graphic is a tinyurl link: tinurl.com/aaba2025workshops
Yellow flyer featuring Sang-Hee Lee, the 2025 recipient of the AABA and Leakey Foundation Communication & Outreach Award in Honor of Camilla Smith. For more than a decade, Dr. Lee has been one of the most impactful researchers communicating the science of biological anthropology to the global public. Her public influence is especially notable via the success of her YouTube channel and her Korean-language books for both children and adults.
Yellow flyer featuring Lorena Madrigal, the 2025 recipient of the Gabriel W. Lasker Service Award. Over the course of her forty years of continuous involvement with the AABA, Dr. Madrigal has served in nearly every leadership role available in the association. One of her most poignant and forward-looking contributions as President of the AABA was elevating the Ethics Committee to a standing committee.
Yellow flyer featuring Kay Behrensmeyer, the 2025 recipient of the The Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award. Her foundational work on the environments of fossil hominins, and the processes that led to their fossilization and preservation, have shaped the way that modern paleoanthropologists conduct their field research. Nomination materials emphasized Dr. Behrensmeyer’s trailblazing career, expansive mentorship, and outreach efforts.
Flyer has a white box on an orange background. The AABA 2025 logo and heading is at the top. In large orange font it says “WORKSHOP PROPOSALS” and in smaller font beneath “Submit a workshop proposal for the 2025 AABA Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland! Submission portal closes November 15, 2024.” A link to bioanth.org is shown and there’s a cute orange crab on the lower right corner of the graphic.
Flyer has a white box on a yellow background. The AABA 2025 logo and heading is at the top. In large yellow font it says “ABSTRACT SUBMISSION” and in smaller font beneath “Submit an abstract for the 2025 AABA Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland! Submission portal closes October 15, 2024.” A link to bioanth.org is shown and there’s a large Baltimore crab on the lower left corner of the graphic.
Flyer for IDEAS Program Workshop Faculty Scholars. Lists eligibility (postdoctoral researcher or adjunct faculty, early career full time faculty, advanced career faculty) and workshop overview (full day programming before AABA annual meetings with student scholars, access to peer-mentoring network, faculty scholars will receive $250 to cover cost of additional night's lodging). Applications due by October 15. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebzZNJIw0oAV7AWP_kdo6aggiv4_kVdyws_bXrDOi9c9okeg/viewform
Purple-themed image with megaphone announces AABA Invited Symposia. Submissions due by 15 August 2024. Image includes skull, DNA, and mandrill graphics. And a tiny little crab (for Baltimore!)
Flyer announcing 2024 IDEAS Program Southeast Regional Workshop to be held October 24-26, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. Applications due May 15th.
Screenshot of AABA Statement in Support of Argentine Science, which is posted on the AABA website
Image of LA in the background with a sneaky monkey in the foreground and the words "March 20 8 pm, Platinum D-E." Opening Reception AABA2024 Los Angeles
An excited baboon urges you to join the fun with the words "AABA 2024 SILENT AUCTION"
#AABA2024 Workshop: Queer and Trans Field Safety Friday, March 22nd, 4:15-6:15 pm
Hybrid Roundtable: What’s in a Name? A Lot in Fact, Which is Why Anthropologists Should Care Friday, March 22nd, 12:15-2:15 pm. IN PERSON & ZOOM Hybrid Roundtable: What’s in a Name? A Lot in Fact, Which is Why Anthropologists Should Care Friday, March 22nd, 12:15-2:15 pm. IN PERSON & ZOOM
Workshop: Sharing Your Science: Public Communication Friday, March 22nd, 12:15-2:15 pm
Virtual Workshop: Evolutionary Mechanisms Beyond the Basics: Envisioning Complex Processes in Hominin Evolution Friday, March 22nd, 12:15-2:15 pm, VIRTUAL ONLY
Workshop: Deconstructing the 'Race as Biology' Paradigm: The Role of Citations in Shaping Scientific Narratives and Practices Friday, March 22nd, 12:15-2:15 pm
Workshop: Considerations for Visualization and Documentation of Human Remains in Bioanthropology Friday, March 22nd, 12:15-2:15 pm
Workshop: Backlash!?! Tools for Managing Trolls in Biological Anthropology Friday, March 22nd, 12:15-2:15 pm
Glowing monkey with "student volunteer program" #AABA2024
Student hotel rate #AABA2024
#AABA2024 Workshop: Improv for Anthropologists: Building Teaching and Outreach Skills with Applied Improv Thursday, March 21st, 7:00-9:00 pm
#AABA2024 Workshop: Up Goer Five: Communicating Biological Anthropology Using English's Ten Hundred Most Common Words Thursday, March 21st, 4:30-6:30 pm
#AABA2024 Workshop: Postdoc and Academic Job Hunting - Everything you need to know Thursday, March 21st, 12:15-2:15 pm
#AABA2024 Workshop: Microchimerism and human health: Bridging the gaps between anthropology and medicine Thursday, March 21st, 12:15-2:15 pm
#AABA2024 Workshop: Departmental leadership and data: a discussion about trends in enrollment for current, past, and future departmental chairs Thursday, March 21st, 12:15-2:15 pm
#AABA2024 Workshop: AABA Art, Culture and Science Engagement Exhibition Thursday, March 21st, 12:15 - 2:15 pm
#AABA2024 Workshop: Anthropology Unleashed: Navigating Public Outreach in the World of Insta(ntaneous) Gratification Thursday, March 21st, 12:15-2:15 pm No registration necessary
Image of scientists with a skull and the words "Publicly Engaged Biological Anthropology Webinar"
Monkeys in bed with the words AABA2024 Relax at the Conference Hotel
#AABA2024 Workshop: Publishing in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology: Advice for Forensic Anthropologists and Bioarchaeologists Wednesday, March 20th, 3:00-4:30 pm
COD-WIN Workshop: Negotiating Change in Professional Settings: A Workshop and Mentoring Opportunity for all Women AABA Attendees Wednesday, March 20th, 2:00-5:00 pm Registration required
#AABA2024 Workshop: How to use B3GET: simulating your favorite primate in a virtual 2D environment Wednesday, March 20th, 1:00-4:00 pm
Workshop: CSViewer for Analysts – A big data approach to Cayo Santiago Rhesus macaque colony: A workshop on a software application to generate a user-friendly interface and to appropriate data analytical tools Wednesday, March 20th, 1:00-5:00 pm Registration required
Workshop: Trauma and thermal damage to skeletal elements: keys to identification and interpretation Wednesday, March 20th, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Registration required
Hybrid Workshop: NSF Mock Review Wednesday, March 20th, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm Registration Required
Image of a monkey with the words "Student Volunteer Program #AABA2024"
Image including the words VOTE, 2024 Executive Committee Election, and AABA American Association of Biological Anthropologists
The winner of the 2024 AABA and Leakey Foundation Communication & Outreach Award in Honor of Camilla Smith is Dr. Tina Lasisi. Dr. Lasisi’s public outreach includes human variation, adaptation, and evolution and she reaches a wide range of audiences. As described by her nomination, “Her work exemplifies many best practices for science communication and engagement- including clarity, empathy, and presenting science as a process of generating knowledge, rather than a set of facts. Her work is also distinctive in its embrace of emerging media platforms, to better connect with younger and more diverse audiences about science and its impacts on society.”
The winner of the Gabriel W. Lasker Award is Dr. Steven Leigh. Dr. Leigh’s nomination emphasized “his unwavering generosity, and the incredible level of graciousness he brought to his leadership roles.” He was serving as VP and Program Chair when the COVID pandemic began, and guided the organization with transparency and wisdom as we had to cancel meetings and transition quickly to online resources. Since then, he has served as President and now, as Past-President, continues to help lead AABA. “He has demonstrated a heartfelt commitment to service that makes academia a better place.”
Winner of the 2024 Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Laurie Godfrey. Dr. Godfrey has been a leader in the fields of primate evolution, paleobiology, and evolutionary ecology for over 40 years. As emphasized by her nomination, she has championed and advanced our understanding of the extinct ‘subfossil’ lemurs of Madagascar through dental microwear, isotopes, histology, ontology, computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy, ancient DNA, and many other methods. “With infectious enthusiasm she has inspired early career scholars and peers to study a diverse array of research topics in Madagascar and beyond.”
The AABA... stand together against the escalating legislation and governance in the United States and across the globe that attacks the existence of transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse peoples. We affirm the power of all persons to make the ultimate decisions over what happens to our/their own bodies. We oppose legislation that is rooted in and maintains rigid binary conceptions of sex and gender which impact reproductive justice and access to care for everyone. We condemn the biological essentialism driving much of this legislation. As biological anthropologists, we condemn the historical role of our discipline in producing binaries of sex, gender, and sexuality and are committed to work that enacts a more livable world. We condemn discrimination and denial of healthcare for youth and adults, including care that is gender and life affirming. We stand for the lives of transgender, non-binary, gender and sex diverse, and queer communities.