2012 Anthropological Anatomy Research Winners!

At last year's AAPA meeting in conjunction with the anatomy career workshop sponsored by the American Association of Anatomists and hosted by me and my colleague Alison Doubleday, a student prize competition was held to recognize student poster and podium presentations that best implemented anatomical methodologies in innovative anthropological research. Seventeen graduate students from programs across the United States applied for the “American Association of Anatomists Anthropological Anatomy Award”. Presentations were judged on novelty of research question and design, use of anatomical methodologies, and presentation style. Two $500 prizes were awarded, one for best podium presentation and one for best poster presentation. Two $250 prizes were awarded, one for honorary podium presentation and one for honorary poster presentation.  Each award winner also received the most current issue of The Anatomical Record.  Over 100 individuals attended the student awards ceremony, during which these award winners were announced.

Awardees include:

• -  Best podium presentation: Gabrielle Russo (University of Texas at Austin) for her presentation, Internal bone structure of the last sacral vertebral body and its relationship to tail length
• -  Best poster presentation: Adam Foster (University of Arizona) for his presentation, Ontogenetic development of postcranial adaptations to bipedalism in the rat
• -  Honorable Mention podium presentation: Neil Roach (Harvard University) for his presentation, Derived anatomy of the shoulder and wrist enable throwing ability in Homo
• -  Honorable Mention poster presentation: Justin Gladman (City University of New York) for his presentation, Detailed measurements of primate calcanei from 3D models allow for reliable body mass estimation

We had very generous one-off funding last year via a grant from AAA and no plans to be able to offer the award for a second year. However, AAPA is collaborating with AAA so that we can offer a single award this year! 

2nd annual Anthropological Anatomy Award at AAPA

Very excited to announce the second annual Anthropological Anatomy Award for the 2013 AAPA meeting. Last year Dr. Alison French Doubleday and I received funding from the American Association of Anatomists (the "other" AAA) to host a workshop on careers for biological anthropologists in anatomy education and research. Those funds also afforded us the opportunity to recognize stellar student research on hot topics in anatomy. This year, AAPA is teaming with AAA to fund a single award for the best presentation on anthropologically-oriented anatomy research. This means that posters will be judged against talks, because we feel strongly that the two formats are of equal value. My email address is in the announcement. Feel free to contact me with questions and submissions (due March 1).

IMPORTANT NOTE 1: You may participate in this competition even if you are already competing in the overall AAPA student competition. No limit!

IMPORTANT NOTE 2: Presentations co-authored by students can be considered, but note that the cash prize will be split among the winners. In the case of co-authored presentations, it must be made very clear how each student contributed equally.

Anatomy Education and Career Workshop at AAPA

Please attend the Anatomy Education and Career Workshop at AAPA, Saturday 14th, 2-3:30pm.
Snacks for attendees will be provided in addition to some great discussion and advice!
RSVP here.
Many thanks to the American Association of Anatomists for their generous financial support of this workshop!

Rationale and goals of the workshop:
The current scarcity of qualified anatomy instructors for professional programs is well documented. In response to the growing need for anatomy educators, institutions and programs have initiated a number of strategies, including the development of Masters and PhD programs that specialize in anatomy education and the recruitment of qualified educators from a broader range of fields such as biology and biological anthropology. In fact, an increasing number of anatomy educators have a background and degree in biological anthropology. The importance of this relationship for anatomy education is evidenced by the presence of numerous anthropological research talks and poster presentations at the Experimental Biology/AAA annual meetings over the last several years. In a constrained job market, there are also advantages for biological anthropologists with a background in anatomy as they can pursue a wider range of faculty positions. Even so, many undergraduate and graduate students in biological anthropology are not aware that anatomy education is a career path available to them. For those that are aware of this opportunity, many are unsure of the specific requirements for teaching in this context and many are also confused as to how their research interests can be integrated into the environment of a medical, dental or other professional institution. This is unfortunate, because a deep understanding of human gross anatomy and histology provides irreplaceable context for studies of variation and adaptation, reproductive ecology, nutrition, growth and development, genetics, and many more topic areas within biological anthropology


At the AAPA/AAA Anatomy Education and Career workshop the pros and cons of pursuing a career outside of anthropology will be discussed, as will advice to graduate students who are interested in the anatomy pathway.

The ultimate goals of this outreach workshop are twofold:
1) To encourage anthropology students to pursue anatomy education to a) augment their research and b) enhance their opportunities on the job market upon graduation.

2) To encourage faculty to forge connections with anatomy education venues on their campuses for the purpose of opening training and teaching opportunities for their students.

JOIN US!

Student Awards for Anthropological Anatomy Research at AAPA!

Dr. Alison Doubleday and I are very pleased to announce the American Association of Anatomists Anthropological Anatomy Student Award, to be presented at this year's AAPA meeting.

The anatomical sciences and biological anthropology have a deeply entwined history, and new methodological and theoretical advances in both fields ensure an exciting future. To recognize and encourage the incorporation of the anatomical sciences into cutting edge biological anthropology research, the American Association of Anatomists has provided funding for student awards at the American Association of Physical Anthropologists annual meeting in Portland.


Two students will be awarded $250 each for the poster and podium presentations that are judged to best implement either traditional or state-of-the-art anatomical methodologies (e.g. histology, pathology, immunohistochemistry, gross dissection, imaging, developmental genetics, etc.) in innovative anthropological research. Presentations will be judged on novelty of the research question and design, use of anatomical methodologies, and presentation style.

Application information can be found here. The deadline to submit your abstract for consideration is MARCH 12. The winner will be announced at the Student Prize Reception on Saturday, April 14, 6-7:30pm, so please attend!

(This award is separate from all other AAPA awards. Even if you have submitted your presentation to the AAPA competition, you may still be considered for the AAA Anthropological Anatomy Student Award!)

P.S. Want to learn about a career as a biological anthropologist in the anatomical sciences? Please attend the Anatomy Education and Career Roundtable on Saturday at 2 pm in the Studio Suite! Please let us know if you are interested in attending!

Looking ahead to AAPA 2012

Before you know it, AAPA 2012 will make landfall in Portland, Oregon (you will see this link from me again and again). Wanted to let you know about two exciting things we've got planned!

1) 3rd Annual BANDIT Happy Hour!
Holy yes, this is happening. And this year we've got a new time: Friday evening, 6-7pm, right before the interest group meetings. We hope this new time will encourage more BANDITs to attend and meet colleagues.

2) Anatomy Education & Career Workshop!
The American Association of Anatomists (the other AAA) has awarded me and my UIC colleague Alison Doubleday an Education Outreach Grant to organize a workshop at the AAPA meetings to open a discussion with graduate students about the advantages and caveats about pursuing graduate training, teaching experience, and faculty careers in the anatomical sciences. We have a wonderful panel of biological anthropologists who have pursued an anatomically-oriented path in their scholarship and teaching. We will also be awarding a student (undergraduate or graduate) presentation that exemplifies the marriage of anthropological and anatomical research approaches. More details will follow, but if you are or have a student planning to present anatomical research at the AAPA meeting, consider applying for this award!

The workshop is tentatively scheduled for Saturday afternoon, 2-3pm, immediately after the Career Development Workshop, and a few hours before the Student Awards Reception, where we hope to announce the winner of the anatomy prize. Please stick around for all of Saturday to attend these great student-centered events!

Primate Anatomy Research Technician Wanted!

The Department of Anatomy at Midwestern University (Downers Grove Campus, 20 miles west of downtown Chicago) seeks a full-time technician to assist in state-of-the-art primate morphology research. This is a particularly good opportunity for recent bachelor's/master's graduate in biological anthropology, anatomy, or zoology who wishes to gain further experience and training before continuing his/her education. Contact Dr. Michelle Singleton or Dr. David Green for more information.

Anatomy Education workshop at AAPA 2012?

AAPA folks (undergrad, grad, postdoc, professor, researcher) with an interest or training or teaching career in anatomical sciences: let me know if you're interested in participating in a workshop at AAPA 2012.