Curriculum Vitae

Peter Ungar received his PhD in Anthropological Sciences from Stony Brook University and taught Gross Anatomy in the medical schools at Johns Hopkins and Duke before moving to the University of Arkansas, where he now serves as Distinguished Professor and Director of the University of Arkansas Environmental Dynamics Doctoral Program.  He is a member of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Ungar has written or coauthored more than 200 scientific works on ecology and evolution for books and journals including Science, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Journal of the Royal Society, Interface. These have focused mostly on diet in living primates, feeding adaptations, and food choice in human ancestors and other fossil species. He has also edited or co-edited three volumes on human evolution, and is author of Mammal Teeth: Origin, Evolution, and Diversity (winner the PROSE Award from the Association of American Publishers for best book in the biological sciences). His recently published titles, Teeth: A Very Short Introduction and Evolution’s Bite:  A Story of Teeth, Diet, and Human Origins are available on bookstore shelves and online retailers.

Gerardo received his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Ecology from the University of Florida. He has a broad interest in terrestrial ecosystem processes from Tropical to the Arctic and how anthropogenic impacts influence these processes. His most recent work included understanding the impacts of rising Arctic temperatures on the carbon balance of arctic ecosystems. He has also studied the role of exotic invasive species in the trajectory of ecosystem recovery after disturbances and identified management methods to enhance and/or speed up ecosystem recovery. He comes from the University of Florida where he has served as an Agroecology lecturer in the Agronomy Department and has written and co-authored over 30 publications. He serves in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arkansas as a postdoctoral fellow in Environmental Dynamics on the Collaborative Research project “Interactions of natural and social systems with climate change, globalization, and infrastructure development in Yamal (Russian Arctic),” focusing on the biotic components of the project.

• LECTURER: University of Florida (Agronomy)
• POSTDOCTORAL INSTITUTION: Northern Arizona University (ECOSS)
• GRADUATE INSTITUTION: University of Florida (Interdisciplinary Ecology)
• UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION: Universidad de Costa Rica (Biology)

Almudena earned her PhD in Paleontology from the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain), specializing in Human Evolution. Her research focuses on tracing the patterns of behavioral individual variation in fossil humans by results from the analysis of differences in their dental wear, both related to diet and non-masticatory activities. She will join the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arkansas to develop the 3DFOSSILDIET project (Tracing the Ontogenetic Evolution of Behavior in Neandertals and Anatomically Modern Humans in the Franco-Cantabrian Region. An Integrative study of 3D Tooth Wear Patterns), under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions program (EU founded).  She has written or coauthored more than 40 scientific papers and book chapters. Almudena is a member of the El Sidrón cave Neandertal’s research team, and also has studied the collections from Musée de préhistoire de Tautavel and Laboratoire Départemental de Préhistoire du Lazaret (France), National Museum of Natural History (USA), Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Belgium), National Museum in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Museo Arqueológico de Asturias (Spain), Museo de Arqueología y Prehistoria de Cantabria (Spain), Arkeologi Museoa (Spain). She has participated in various field campaigns in Spain.

• POSTDOCTORAL INSTITUTION: Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung in Frankfurt am Main
• POSTDOCTORAL INSTITUTION: University of Cantabria in Spain
• GRADUATE INSTITUTION: Spanish Natural History Museum (MNCN-CSIC, Madrid)

Ruokuonuo Rose obtained her Ph.D in Archaeology from the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune. Her research has focused on mcrowear analysis of human teeth recovered from the Jotsoma, Leshemi, Ranyek Khen, and Rikhelüwong sites in Nagaland. Her interest lies in Bioarchaeology and  diet as a critical parameter for understanding human behavior and ecological adaptation, especially as determined by dental microwear analysis. She aims to address this significant lacuna by exploring the dietary behaviors of Chalcolithic (including Harappan) and Iron Age populations through analysis of dental remains recovered from Harrapan, Chalcolithic, and Megalithic sites in India during her postdoctoral fellowship from the Fulbright Foundation. She has also supervised field teams as Programme Manager at The Highland Institute, an independent research center located in Nagaland

• POSTDOCTORAL INSTITUTION: University of Arkansas
• HOME INSTITUTION: The Highland Institute, Kohima India
• GRADUATE INSTITUTION: Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India (Archaeology)
• UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION: St. Joseph’s College, University of Nagaland, India (History)

Watching expeditions and primates on television, during her childhood made Paramita lean towards the vast field of evolution. While growing up, she became fascinated with the concept of humans evolving from other primates.   During the years 2015-18 she was took part in various cultural, ecological and biological anthropology field projects. Her Master’s dissertation was a study of nutrition and body composition of tribal and non-tribal adult women from Middle and East India. She is also interested in tooth structure, tooth wear and hominid diet.

• OTHER GRADUATE INSTITUTION: Visva-Bharati University, India (M.Sc in Anthropology)
• UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION: Arya Vidyapeeth College , India ( B.Sc in Anthropology, General Zoology and Botany)

Yaobin is a doctoral student visiting from the Laboratory of Human Evolution Research at Shandong University (Qingdao), China. During her graduate study at Shandong University, she has focused on Paleolithic Archaeology, in particular, studies of Pleistocene large-mammalian fauna in southern China and Acheulean hand axes. She has also participated in the field surveys and excavations of terraces and cave sites across southern China. For her PhD research, she plans to study the evolution of mammalian fauna to provide background for hominin migration and evolution in southern China and to better understand diet change in mammal evolution. She is spending one year in the Ungarlab, as a China Scholarship Council Scholar, focusing on Primate dental microwear textures.

• UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION: Shandong University (Archaeology, PhD research in progress)

Leah graduated from Ohio University in May of 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology. During her undergraduate career, she completed two independent studies focusing on commingled remains, served as an excavator at archaeological sites in Ohio and North Carolina, developed outdoor astronomy activities for the Ohio Museum Complex, and created 3D digital models of various mammal dentition from CT scans. Leah attended the Koobi Fora Field School in 2019, where she collected faunal abundance data in Northern Kenya for her research project. Based on her undergraduate experiences, Leah hopes to research mammalian dentition as a proxy to further understand hominin paleoecology. 

• UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION: Ohio University (B.A. in Anthropology)

Alexandria graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2014 with an honors distinction in Anthropology. She served as a TA for Human Osteology and assisted the Biological Anthropology Teaching Laboratory in other projects, including skeletal analysis for the Repatriation Department at the Field Museum. Her senior year, she was awarded the Provost Fellowship by Loyola’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, and traveled to the Ungar Lab to do research for her honors thesis. Her research used metric and non- metric traits that found a set of teeth labeled Meganthropus to be Homo erectus, and compared microwear data to other populations engaged in non-dietary tooth use behaviors. Additionally, she presented her research at Loyola’s Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium and the Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium (CAURS). Her research interests include diet and behavioral reconstruction of early hominins, particularly Homo erectus, using DMTA. She is currently a TA for the Intro to Biological Anthropology Lab.

• UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION: Loyola University Chicago (B.S. in Anthropology and B.A. in Classical Civilizations)

Putu first became interested in wildlife during her childhood, while watching Steve Irwin’s documentaries.  Her interest in primate behavior grew at university, particularly after reading Darwin’s Origins of Species and participating in a primate study forum. She is especially curious about the role of primates in her own culture, folkore, and religion. In fact, she conducted her undergraduate thesis research in Bali, studying the impact of anthropogenic disturbance (culture, folklore, tourism) on feeding behavior of long-tailed macaques. She hopes to continue her work on the interface between humans and primates in Bali, and is also has interested in human evolution and dental structure of non-human primates.

• UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION: Universitas Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia (B.Sc in Biology, Environment Conservation)

Sidney graduated with her Master’s of Science in Human Biology from the University of Indianapolis in 2021. She has participated in archaeological, forensic, and humanitarian field work during the course of her career. She helped develop the Standard Operating Procedures for the University of Indianapolis Human Identification Center and served as a Forensic Anthropologist I for the lab. Sidney has taught undergraduate courses in human anatomy, physiology, and introductory bioarchaeology. She has completed research on dental macrowear in attempts to compare diets and is excited to move into other avenues of dental research. She hopes to focus on dental growth and development in anatomically modern humans, as well as reconstruction of diet and ecology in past populations.

• OTHER GRADUATE INSTITUTION: University of Indianapolis (M.S in Human Biology)
• UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION: Saint Louis University (B.A. in Anthropology)

Caroline Ausley is an Exercise Science major with a focus on Pre-dentistry, and is from Austin, Texas. She is a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity and currently serves on the campus involvement committee. She also advises and mentors students as a Pre-Health Professions Association mentor and is an active member of the Pre-Dental Society on campus. During the school year she volunteers with the SOAR after-school program. When at home in Austin, she shadows various dentists and volunteers with the MyPlayer2Player organization. ​ Caroline’s research in the lab will focus on dental microwear of the Eocene-Oligocene mammalian fauna from the Fayum, Egypt.

Hannah Carrisalez is a Honors Biology major with a focus in Pre-Dental from Springfield, Missouri. Hannah is currently a member of the Pre-Dental Society, Women in Medicine, and Alpha Chi Omega. Hannah interns for Samaritan Dental Clinic in Rogers, Arkansas, where she assists dentists in providing free care for patients in the area. She volunteers actively at local women’s shelter Peace At Home and Magdalene Serenity house providing assistance to women in need of housing. When back in Springfield, Hannah works as a Dental Assistant at Crossroads Dental. Hannah’s research in the lab will focus on dental microwear of the Eocene-Oligocene mammalian fauna from the Fayum, Egypt.

Caroline Groves is an Honors Biology major with a focus on Pre-Dentistry. She is a Governor’s Distinguished Scholar and is from Monticello, Arkansas. Caroline is a member of the Pre-Dental Society where she will act as secretary for the upcoming year. She volunteers weekly at Welcome Health Extraction Clinic, a nonprofit clinic devoted to providing free dental care. It has given her the opportunity to get hands-on experience assisting dental professionals, and she was recently asked to serve as the clinic’s coordinator. Caroline gives back to her community through various organizations; she is most involved with the SOAR Afterschool Program. Her research project focuses on assessing impacts of microhabitat and food type available in Arctic Finland on reindeer dental microwear texture pattern.

Pearson Hafer is a member of the Honors College from Hot Springs, Arkansas. He is majoring in Exercise Science and minoring in Biology with a focus in Pre-Dentistry. Pearson is a member of the executive committee within the Sigma Chi fraternity and is currently serving as the Academic Chairman, as well as a peer mentor for students with interests in the medical field. He is also an active member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Pre-Dental Society, and Exercise is Medicine on campus at the University of Arkansas. On a weekly basis, Pearson volunteers at the Welcome Health Extraction clinic located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, assisting dental professionals with providing free dental care to the surrounding Northwest Arkansas community.   His research project focuses on impacts of microhabitat on rodent dental microwear pattern by studying lemmings and voles from Arctic Finland and Siberia.

John A. Hopkins is an Honors College Fellow at the University of Arkansas majoring in Biological Anthropology. He grew up in Morrilton, Arkansas, and following high school, he served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Cincinnati, Ohio Area. Since then, John has worked in the dental field with several Northwest Arkansas providers as an employee of Stroope Orthodontics and Farmington Dental & Orthodontics, which led him to choose a Pre-Dental degree track. He is a member of the University of Arkansas’ Pre-Dental Society in addition to serving as Vice President of the Latter-day Saint Student Association. John’s research involves the study of dental microwear to reveal environmental and climatic impacts on the diets of Icelandic fox populations.

Andrew Garrett Kirkpatrick is an undergraduate Biological Anthropology major from Little Rock, Arkansas studying minors in Geology, Geography, and Religious Studies. He is pursuing research topics around the university primarily concerning vertebrate paleontology. Garrett is undertaking a project with Dr. Celina Suarez of the Geoscience department completing isotopic analysis of samples collected during his internship in Utah with the Bureau of Land Management. Through his work at the Arkansas Archeological Survey, Garrett is involved with a project to digitize collections from various digs in and around Old Washington State Park. Garrett is a departmental honors student, recipient of the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship
and Chancellor’s Community Scholarships, and a member of the University of Arkansas’s Collegiate Road Cycling Team. His research in the Ungar Lab involves microwear texture analysis on Plio-Pleistocene bovids from Ethiopia with the aim of improving our understanding of the environmental contexts of hominin evolution eastern Africa.

Cami is an Honors Biology major and minoring in Anthropology with a focus on Pre-Dentistry. She currently serves as a peer/major mentor within the Chi Omega Fraternity and is an Arkansas Alumni Scholar. She is an active member of the Pre-Dental Society, Biology club, the Anthropological Student Society, and the Mental Health Awareness Organization. Throughout the school year, she volunteers with the University of Arkansas Volunteer Action committee and various animal shelters in the NWA area. During her time at home, she works closely with Helping Hands for Little Paws Rescue Group and the Sherwood Animal Shelter in Sherwood, AR. Cami also frequently works as a dental lab assistant for Kita Orthodontics. Her research in the lab involves participation in an NIH funded project considering surface textures of enamel in dental patients.

Harrison Lowe is an Honors Biological Anthropology Major from Prairie Grove, Arkansas. He is also pursuing a minor in African and African American Studies. He is a member of the Lambda Alpha Honors Society for Anthropology and treasurer of the University of Arkansas Anthropology club. Harrison also spends much of his time at Dickson St. Bookshop, in which he curates, among other subjects, books on Anthropology and Archaeology. He is a Governor’s Distinguished Scholar, Arkansas Alumni Scholar, and was recently awarded the Octa Norma High Scholarship. His research in the lab involves assessing the relationships between patterns of dental microwear and diets/habitats of reindeer in Arctic Finland.

Lindsey Lowe is an Honors Biology major with a focus in Pre-Dentistry from Houston, Texas. Lindsey is an active member of the Delta Gamma Fraternity for Women as well as the Pre-Dental Society, Biology Club, and Mental Health Awareness Organization. Lindsey spends her time during the school year tutoring students in biology and chemistry through Peak Learning as well as volunteering weekly at the Best Friends NWA Animal Shelter. During the summer, Lindsey works as a registered dental assistant at Fairmont Orthodontics in Pasadena, TX. Lindsey’s research in the lab is expected to focus on dental microwear of the Eocene-Oligocene mammalian fauna from the Fayum, Egypt.

 Anna Martens is an Honors Biology major with a focus on Pre-Dentistry from Nixa, Missouri. She is an active member of the Pre-Dental Society, Biology Club, Delta Delta Delta, and secretary of CHAARG, which is a women’s fitness club. She is a weekly volunteer intern at Welcome Health Extraction Clinic in Fayetteville and Samaritan Dental Clinic in Rogers where she assists dental professionals with providing free dental care to the Northwest Arkansas community. During her time at home, she works as a dental assistant at Martens Family Dental in Springfield, Missouri. Her research in the lab focuses on impacts of microhabitat on hyrax dental microwear texture pattern.

Emmaleigh Moffitt is an undergraduate Honors Biology major with a focus on Pre-Medicine from Rogers, Arkansas. She is also pursuing a minor in Psychology. She is a recipient of the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship and the Chancellor’s Community Scholarship. Emmaleigh plans on attending medical school with the goal of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. Emmaleigh is a member of The Rock Climbing Club at the University of Arkansas, as well as The Biology Club. Her research project focuses on the impacts of time and climate change on the diets of Eocene and Oligocene hyracoids from Fayum of Egypt using patterns of dental microwear as a proxy for diet.

Morgan Murphy is an Honors Biology and Music double major from Bentonville, Arkansas. She has a focus in Pre-Physical Therapy and wants to pursue neurological physical therapy. She is a recipient of the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship and the Chancellor’s Scholarship. She founded the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the Our Songs Project, a non-profit organization that serves to bring music and the arts to senior care facilities. As an avid musician, Morgan plays flute for the University of Arkansas Wind Ensemble and piccolo for both the Razorback Marching Band and Hogwild Band. She is a certified EMT, EKG Technician, Pharmacy Technician, and Physical Therapy Technician.

Karsten is an undergraduate biology major with a minor in economics and a pre-dental focus. He is a University of Arkansas Leadership Scholar and is an avid member of the pre-dental society and is from Hot Springs, Arkansas. Karsten volunteers at Genesis cancer research through the YMOD program along with the Jackson House of Hot Springs while back home in Hot Springs and assist with extractions at Welcome Health Extraction Clinic a free dental care service used to provide help for the greater NWA area with their dental needs. Karsten’s research focuses on impacts of changes over time and space in population size and diet on microwear patterning for arctic foxes in Iceland.

Rachel is an undergraduate Honors Biology major with a minor in medical humanities and a pre-dental focus from St. Louis, Missouri. She is an active member of the Pre-Dental Society, Pre-Health Professions Association, Medical Humanities Club, Biology Club, and Women’s Club Soccer team. Throughout the school year, she volunteers with the University of Arkansas Volunteer Action Committee and other organizations. Rachel recently traveled to Honduras as a volunteer on a dental brigade and is looking forward to traveling to Guatemala for another mission next year. Rachel spends a lot of her time shadowing dentists both at home and in Fayetteville. Her research in the lab focuses on comparing microwear texture patterns of arctic fox teeth to their diets and habitats in Iceland.

Rathe VanBuskirk is a Bio-Medical Engineering major from Viola, Arkansas. He plans on attending dental school with the goal of becoming a general dentist after he graduates. Rathe is currently a member of the pre-dental society. During the summers Rathe spends time working as an engineering intern, volunteering, and shadowing at local dental practices. His role in the lab involves preparation of molds for casting, production of epoxy tooth replicas, and other activities.

Lily Wewers is an Honors Biology major with a focus on Pre-Dentistry. She is from Little Rock, Arkansas. Lily is a member of the Slating Committee and the Academics Committee within the Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity and a Governor’s Distinguished Scholar. She is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, National Society of Leadership and Success, Pre-Dental Society, Mental Health Awareness Organization, Anthropological Student Society, Biology Club, UofA Honors College, and the Film Appreciation Forum. Throughout the school year she volunteers with SOAR and during the summer she shadows various dentists in Little Rock and the surrounding areas. Her research in the lab involves participation in an NIH funded project considering surface textures of enamel in dental patients.

Katie Wilcox is an Honors Biology major and Psychology minor with a focus on Pre-Dentistry. She currently serves as a Pre-Health Profession Association Pre-Dental Mentor and is from Little Rock, Arkansas. She is an active member of the Chi Omega Sorority, Biology club, PHPA, and the Pre-Dental Society. During the school year, Katie spends her time volunteering at Apple Seeds teaching farm, Kids’ Life After-School, and Equestrian Bridges. At home in Little Rock, she is an avid volunteer at Shepherd’s Hope Neighborhood Health Center, where Dentists provide free dental care to individuals throughout the community. Katie’s research in the lab focuses on reconstructing the diets of Miocene primates from Rudabánya, Hungary.