Christopher A. Schmitt
Curriculum Vitae
(last update: 01JUN2023)
EDUCATION
2010 Ph.D. New York University – Biological Anthropology
2006 M.A. New York University – Biological Anthropology
2003 B.S. University of Wisconsin, Madison – English Literature & Zoology
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
2015 – pres. Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Boston University
2016 – pres. Joint Programmatic Appointment, Department of Biology, BU
2022 – pres. Core Faculty, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program, BU
2015 – 2022 Affiliated Faculty, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program, BU
2014 – 2015 Postdoctoral Scholar, Human Evolution Research Center, UC Berkeley
2014 Lecturer, Department of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
2013 – 2014 Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California
2013 – 2015 Visiting Assistant Project Scientist, UCLA Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics
2013 Lecturer, Department of Psychology, UCLA
2010 – 2013 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UCLA Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics
HONORS AND AWARDS
Fellowships (Total = $241,000)
2010, 2012 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics; $40,000
2009 – 2010 NY Consortium for Evolutionary Primatology, NSF/IGERT; $15,000
2005 – 2006 NYCEP Summer Research Fellowships; $10,000
2005 – 2010 NYU Department of Anthropology Summer Research Fellowships; $25,000
2004 – 2009 Henry M. MacCracken Graduate Fellowship; $140,000
2004 NYU Dean’s Supplementary Fellowship Grant; $1,000
Awards & Distinctions
2023 Undergraduate Academic Advising Award, Boston University
2023 President (Elected), American Association for Anthropological Genetics
2022 Susan K. Jackson Service Award, BU College of Arts & Sciences
2022 Vice President (Elected), American Association of Anthropological Genetics
2022 Invited Plenary Speaker, North West University (South Africa)
2020 Invited Year in Review, American Anthropologist
2019 Nominee – Council Delegate, Section H, American Association for the Advancement of Science
2019 Invited Plenary Speaker – Asociación Peruana de Primates (Perú)
2018 Nominee – Executive Committee, American Association for Anthropological Genetics
2017 Nominee – Executive Board, American Association for Anthropological Genetics
2016 Invited Keynote Speaker – NEEP
2015 Nominee – Executive Board, American Association for Anthropological Genetics
2013 Nature Careers Columnist Contest Winner, Nature Publishing Group
2003 Phi Kappa Phi Zillman Scholarship
2003 Phi Beta Kappa
MANUSCRIPTS
*Undergraduate, **Graduate, ***Postdoctoral trainee co-authors.
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS (N = 32; Google Citation Count = 1,258)
2023 Zarate MA**, Shanee S, Charpentier E, Sarmiento Y, Schmitt CA. Expanded distribution and predicted suitable habitat for the Critically Endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in Peru. American Journal of Primatology, 85(2):e23464. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23464]
2022 Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Cramer JD, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Evidence of selection in UCP1 gene region suggests local adaptation to irradiance rather than cold temperatures in savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). Proc Royal Soc B, 289:20221254. [DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1254]
2022 Monson TA, Brasil MF, Mahaney MC, Schmitt CA, Taylor C, Hlusko LJ. Keeping 21st century approaches to paleontology grounded: Quantitative genetics and ancestral state reconstruction re-emphasize the essentiality of fossils. Biology (MDPI), 11:1218. [DOI: 10.3390/biology11081218]
2021 Schmitt CA, Garrett EC. De-scent with modification: More evidence and caution needed to assess whether the loss of a pheromone signaling protein permitted the evolution of same-sex sexual behavior in primates. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 50(6): 2301-2307. [DOI: 10.1007/s10508-019-01583-z]
2020 Jasinska AJ, Dong TS, Lagishetty V, Katzka W, Jacobs JP, Schmitt CA, Cramer J, Coetzer WG, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Ma D, Freimer N, Pandrea I, Apetrei C. Shifts in microbial diversity, composition and functionality in the gut and genital microbiome during a natural SIV infection in vervet monkeys. Microbiome 8: 154. [DOI: 10.1186/s40168-020-00928-4]
2020 Schmitt CA, Bergey CM, Jasinska AJ, Ramensky V, Burt F, Svardal H, Jorgensen MJJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Truner TR. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 receptor variation in savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.): Potential risk for zoonotic/anthroponotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and a potential model for functional studies. PLoS ONE 15(6): e0235106. [DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235106]
2020 Brasil MF, Monson TA, Schmitt CA, Hlusko LJ. A genotype:phenotype approach to testing taxonomic hypotheses in hominds. Naturwissenschaften 107:40. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-020-01696-9]
2020 Jarrett JD, Bonnell T, Jorgensen MJ, Schmitt CA, Young C, Dostie M, Barrett L, Henzi SP. Modelling variation in the growth of wild and captive juvenile vervet monkeys. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 171: 89-99. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23960]
2020 McHugh SM*, Cornejo FM, McKibben J, Zarate M**, Tello C, Jiménez CF, Schmitt CA. First detection of the Peruvian yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in the Región Junín, Peru. Oryx, 54(6): 814-818. [DOI: 10.1017/S003060531900084X]
2019 Monson TA, Brasil MF, Boisserie J-R, Clay S, Dvoretzky R, Ravindramurthy S, Schmitt CA, Souron A, Takenaka R, Ungar PS, Yoo S-W, Zuercher ME, Hlusko LJ. Evidence of strong stabilizing effects on the evolution of boreoeutherian (Mammalia) dental proportions. Ecology & Evolution 9(13): 7597-7612. [DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5309]
2019 Meredith SM, Schmitt CA. The outliers are in: Queer perspectives on investigating variation in biological anthropology. In: Vital Topics Forum: How Academic Diversity is Transforming Scientific Knowledge in Biological Anthropology (Bolnick DA, Smith RWA, Fuentes A, Eds). American Anthropologist 121(2): 487-489. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.13223]
2018 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Lorenz J, Grobler JP, Jolly CJ, and Freimer NB. Morphological variation in the genus Chlorocebus: Ecogeographic and anthropogenically mediated variation in body mass, postcranial morphology, and growth. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 166: 682-707. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23459]
2018 Coetzer WG, Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Grobler JP. Adaptive genetic variation at three loci in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and the role of selection within Primates. PeerJ 6: e4953. [DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4953]
2018 Schmitt CA, Service S, Cantor RM, Jasinska AJ, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, and Freimer NB. High heritability of obesity and obesogenic growth are both highly heritable and modified by diet in a nonhuman primate model, the African green monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). International Journal of Obesity 42: 765-774. [DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2017.301]
2017 Jasinska AJ, Zelaya I, Service SK, Peterson C, Cantor RM, Choi O-W, DeYoung J, Eskin E, Fairbanks LA, Fears S, Furterer A, Huang YS, Ramensky V, Schmitt CA, Svardal H, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, Villar D, Aken BL, Flicek P, Nag R, Wong ES, Blangero J, Dyer TD, Bogomolov M, Benjamini Y, Weinstock GM, Dewar K, Sabatti C, Wilson RK, Jentsch JD, Warren W, Coppola G, Woods RP, Freimer NB. Genetic variation and gene expression across multiple tissues and developmental stages in a non-human primate. Nature Genetics 49: 1714–1721. [DOI: 10.1038/ng.3959]
2017 Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Apetrei C, Coppola G, Huang Y, Schmitt CA, Jacquelin B, Müller-Trutwin M, Weinstock G, Grobler JP, Wilson RK, Turner TR, Warren WC, Freimer NB, Nordborg M. Ancient hybridization and strong adaptation to viruses across African vervet monkey populations. Nature Genetics 49: 1705–1713. [DOI: 10.1038/ng.3980]
2016 Hlusko LJ, Schmitt CA, Monson T, Brasil M and Mahaney MC. The integration of quantitative genetics, paleontology, and neontology reveals genetic underpinnings of primate dental evolution. PNAS 113(33): 9262-9267. [DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605901113]
2016 Senghore M, Bayliss S, Kwambana-Adams B, Foster-Nyarko E, Manneh J, Dione M, Badji H, Ebruke C, Dought E, Thorpe H, Jasinska A, Schmitt C, Cramer J, Turner T, Weinstock G, Freimer N, Pallen M, Feil E, Antonio M. Whole-genome sequencing reveals transmission of Staphylococcus aureus from humans to green monkeys in The Gambia. Appl Env Microbiol 82(19):5910-5917. [DOI: 10.1128/aem.01496-16]
2016 Turner TR, Coetzer WG, Schmitt CA, Lorenz J, Freimer NB, Grobler JP. Localized population divergence of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.) in South Africa: evidence from mtDNA. Am J Phys Anthropol 159:17-30. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22825]
2015 Amato KR, Yeoman CJ, Cerda G, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Berg Miller MB, Gomez A, Turner TR, Wilson BA, Stumpf RM, Nelson KE, White BA, Knight R and Leigh SR. Variable responses of human and non-human primate gut microbiomes to a Western diet. Microbiome 3:53. [DOI: 10.1186/s40168-015-0120-7]
2015 Schmitt CA and Di Fiore A. Predation risk sensitivity and the spatial organization of primate groups: A case study using GIS in lowland woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii). Am J Phys Anthropol 156:158-165. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22612]
2015 Warren WC, Jasinska AJ, Garcia-Perez R, Svardel H, Tomlinson C, Rocchi M, Archidiacono N, Capozzi O, Minx P, Montague MJ, Kyung K, Hillier LW, Kremitzki M, Graves T, Chiang C, Hughes J, Tran N, Wang Y, Ramensky V, Choi O, Jung YJ, Schmitt CA, Juretic N, Wasserscheid J, Turner TR, Wiseman RW, Tuscher JJ, Karl JA, Schmitz JE, Zahn R, O’Connor DH, Redmond E, Nisbett A, Jacquelin B, Müller-Trutwin MC, Brenchley JM, Dione M, Antonio A, Schroth GP, Kaplan JR, Jorgensen MJ, Thomas GWC, Hahn MW, Raney B, Aken B, Schmitz J, Churakov G, Noll A, Stanyon R, Webb D, Thibaud-Nissen F, Nordborg M, Marques-Bonet T, Dewar K, Weinstock GM, Wilson RK, Freimer NB. The genome of the vervet (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Genome Research 25:1921-1933. [DOI: 10.1101/gr.192922.115]
2015 Rodriguez RL, Cramer JD, Schmitt CA, Gaetano TJ, Grobler JP, Freimer NB, and Turner TR. Adult age confounds estimates of static allometric slopes in a vertebrate. Ethol Ecol Evol 27:412-421. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2014.986767]
2015 Di Fiore A, Chaves P, Cornejo F, Schmitt CA, Shanee S, Cortes-Ortiz L, Fagundes V, Roos C, and Pacheco V. Rise and fall of a genus: Complete mtDNA coding sequences shed light on the phylogenetic position of yellow-tailed woolly monkeys, Lagothrix (Oreonax) flavicauda, and on the evolutionary history of the Neotropical primate family Atelidae (Platyrrhini). Mol Phylogenet Evol 82(B):495-510. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.03.028]
2015 Rodriguez RL, Cramer JD, Schmitt CA, Gaetano TJ, Grobler JP, Freimer NB, and Turner TR. The static allometry of sexual and non-sexual traits in vervet monkeys. Biol J Linnean Soc, 114:527-537. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12440]
2014 Ma D, Jasinska AJ, Feyertag F, Wijewardana V, Kristoff J, He Tianyu, Raehtz K, Schmitt CA, Jung Y, Dione M, Antonio M, Tracy R, Turner T, Robertson DL, Pandrea I, Freimer NB, and Apetrei C. Factors associated with SIV transmission in a natural African nonhuman primate host in the wild. J Virol 88(12):6778-6792. [DOI: 10.1128/JVI.03606-13]
2014 Schmitt CA and Di Fiore A. Life history, behavior, and development of wild immature lowland woolly monkeys (Lagothrix poeppigii) in Amazonian Ecuador. In The Woolly Monkey: Behavior, Ecology, Systematics and Conservation Research (ed. Thomas Defler and Pablo Stevenson). Springer. p. 113 - 148. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0697-0_8]
2014 Gaetano TJ, Danzy J, Mtshali MS, Theron N, Schmitt CA, Grobler JP, Freimer N, and Turner TR. Mapping correlates of parasitism in wild South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops). S African J Wildlife Res 44(1):56-70. [DOI: 10.3957/056.044.0105]
2013 Jasinska AJ, Schmitt CA, Service SK, Cantor RM, Dewar K, Jentsch DJ, Kaplan JR, Turner TR, Warren WC, Weinstock, GM, Woods RP, Freimer NB. Systems biology of the vervet monkey. ILAR / Natl Res Council. 54:122-143. [DOI: 10.1093/ilar/ilt049]
2013 Ma D, Jasinska A, Kristoff J, Grobler P, Turner T, Jung Y, Schmitt C, Raehtz K, Martinez N, Wijewardana V, Tracy R, Pandrea I, Freimer N, and Apetrei C. SIVagm infection in wild African green monkeys from South Africa: epidemiology, natural history, and evolutionary considerations. PLoS Pathogens 9(1):1-18. [DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003011]
2013 Cramer JD, Gaetano TJ, Gray JP, Grobler JP, Lorenz J, Freimer NB, Schmitt CA, and Turner TR. Variation in scrotal color among widely distributed vervet monkey populations (C. a. pygerythrus and C. a. sabaeus). Am J Primatol 75:752-762. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22156]
2009 Di Fiore A, Link A, Schmitt CA, and Spehar S. Dispersal patterns in sympatric woolly and spider monkeys: Integrating molecular and observational data. Behaviour 146:437-470. [DOI: 10.1163/156853909X426345]
MANUSCRIPTS UNDER REVIEW (N = 1)
2023 Schmitt CA, Rich AM***, Parke SR*, Blaszczyk MB***, Cramer JD, Lorenz J, Freimer NB,
Turner TR. Anthropogenic food enhancement alters the timing of reproductive onset among wild savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). Revise and resubmit at International Journal of Primatology.
MANUSCRIPTS IN PROGRESS (AT LEAST AT DRAFT STAGE; N = 8)
2023 Schmitt CA, Cooke SB. Genetically-patterned dental phenotypes provide support for the role of diet-based evolutionary differentiation among the primates of the Americas (Parvorder: Platyrrhini). In preparation for BMC Ecology and Evolution.
2023 Rich AM***, Mokgokong P, Scott A**, Blaszczyk MB***, Dalton DL, Amato KR, Schmitt CA. Vervet microbiome and growth in anthropogenic environments. In preparation for American Journal of Primatology.
2023 Angley L**, Mikulski N*, Sievert O, Harwood A, Mogoola W, Schmitt CA. Post-release survival and welfare of rehabilitated vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus rufoviridis) in Malawi. In preparation for American Journal of Primatology.
2023 Gagnon CM**, Schmitt CA. Phylogenetic analysis of the UCP1 gene in Primates reveals clade-specific structural variation. In preparation for Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
2023 Persaud R*, Gagnon CM**, Rich AM***, Schmitt CA. Assessing intraspecific variation of primate vulvae: A case study in vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). In preparation for Folia Primatologica.
2023 Dippel M**, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Genetic variation in heat shock protein HSPA1L in savanna monkeys: Implications for heat resilience. In preparation for Genes.
2023 Sun E**, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Selection in the PLIN2 (Perilipin-2) gene among wild savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). In preparation for Genetics Selection Evolution.
2023 Brooks R, Gibb JK, Mariotte P, Schmitt CA, Tougeron K, Warkentin K. How does heteronormativity shape theory and practice in ecology and evolution. In preparation for Ecology and Evolution.
NON-PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS (N = 15)
2021 Schmitt CA. Year Without End: Primatology in 2020. American Anthropologist, 123(4): 916-930. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.13661]
2020 Schmitt CA. Hidden from history, searching for a future: Commentary on the unverified homosexual tendencies of biological anthropologists. American Anthropologist, 122(3): 581-583. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.13428]
2019 Turner TR, Jahnke LM, Mulligan CJ, Turner, TR, 2019 Workshop on Data Sharing in Biological Anthropology. Response to letters to the editor concerning AJPA commentary on “data sharing in biological anthropology: Guiding principles and best practices”. Am J Phys Anthropol. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24065]
2019 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD. Preface. In: Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Turner, TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pxv-xviii. [DOI: 10.1017/9781139019941.023]
2019 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD. Introduction. In: Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Turner, TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P3-15. [DOI: 10.1017/9781139019941.001]
2019 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD. Savanna Monkey Taxonomy. In: Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Turner, TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P31-54. [DOI: 10.1017/9781139019941.003]
2019 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD. Population Genetics and Savanna Monkeys. In: Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Turner, TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P81-100. [DOI: 10.1017/9781139019941.007]
2019 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD. Behavioral Ecology of Savanna Monkeys. In: Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Turner, TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P109-126. [DOI: 10.1017/9781139019941.009]
2019 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD. Life History of Savanna Monkeys. In: Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Turner, TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P163-198. [DOI: 10.1017/9781139019941.014]
2019 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD. Ethnoprimatology and Savanna Monkeys. In: Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Turner, TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P235-243. [DOI: 10.1017/9781139019941.019]
2019 Schmitt CA and Gokcumen O. Primate genomics and phylogenetics. In A Companion to Anthropological Genetics (ed. Dennis H. O’Rourke). New York: Wiley. [DOI: 10.1002/9781118768853.ch5]
2017 Schmitt CA. “Christopher Schmitt: Got dengue fever. Tried following monkeys anyway. Became delirious. Wrote in Elvish all over field pants.” In: Fieldwork Fail: The Messy Side of Science. Jourdane J and Groenendijk J, Eds. Toulouse: Makisapa Editions. P30-33. [ISBN: 978-2956004516]
2017 Di Fiore A, Fernandez-Duque E, Link A, Schmitt C, Porter A, Álvarez S, Abondano L, Ellis K, Romo D. 2017. Estudios de Primates en La Estación de la Biodiversidad Tiputini. In: Los secretos del Yasuní. Avances en la Investigación del Bosque Tropical. Estación de Biodiversidad Tiputini. Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
2013 Schmitt CA. Column: Postdoc’s Torch Song. Nature 503:155. [DOI: 10.1038/nj7474-155a]
2011 Schmitt CA. From “faggot” to field biologist. In It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living. Savage D and Miller T, Eds. New York: Dutton. P235-237. [ISBN: 978-0452297616]
PUBLISHED DATASETS (N = 6)
2022 Schmitt CA, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Cramer JD, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR. Savanna monkey (Chlorocebus spp.) population genetics/genomics pipeline. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k3j9kd59z
2021 Schmitt CA, Turner TR, Cramer JD, Lorenz J, Grobler JP, Freimer NB. Worldwide savanna monkey (Chlorocebus spp.) body measures. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vt4b8gtss
2017 Vervet monkey whole genome gene expression data (European Nucleotide Archive: ERP008917; Gene Expression Omnibus: GSE15301). From Jasinska et al. (2017).
2017 Whole genome resequencing (Sequence Read Archive: PRJNA168472, PRJNA168520, PRJNA168522, PRJNA168527). From Svardal et al. (2017).
2016 Catarrhine primate dental morphology dataset available on Dryad Digital Repository (doi:10.5061/dryad.693j8). From Hlusko et al. (2016).
2015 Vervet monkey reference genome (ChlSab1.1), available annotated online via Ensembl (https://useast.ensembl.org/Chlorocebus_sabaeus/) with raw reads (Sequence Read Archive: PRJNA240242), assembly (NCBI GenBank: GCA_000409795.2), and deletion variants (NCBI dbVar: nstd114) available online. From Warren et al. (2015).
EDITED VOLUMES (N = 1)
2019 Savanna Monkeys: The Genus Chlorocebus. Editors: Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD. Cambridge University Press. [DOI: 10.1017/9781139019941]
GRANTS
EXTERNAL GRANTS AWARDED (N = 9; Total Amount = $231,636)
2023 National Geographic Explorer Community Project (Co-PI): LGBTQ+ Explorer Hub Meetup, with Co-PIs Lucía Flores, Rachel Hansen, A.J. Hardie, Christine Lin, Rüdiger Ortiz-Álvarez, Santiago Ramirez-Said, Jaquelyn Saturno, Jay Simpson, Christine Wilkinson. $83,000.
2022 National Science Foundation (BCS, Biological Anthropology) DDRIG (PI): Landscape Mitogenomics and High Altitude Adaptation in the Peruvian Yellow-Tailed Woolly Monkey, with Co-PI Melissa Zarate**. $26,000.
2019 The Leakey Foundation (PI): Modeling the Evolution of Obesity: Gene Expression, Drought, and Anthropogenic Stress in Wild Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), with Prudent Mokgokong and Dr. Amita Kapoor. $23,111.20.
2019 National Geographic Explorer Grant (PI): Discovering the Evolutionary Origins of Obesity, with Prudent Mokgokong and Dr. Amita Kapoor. $17,223.60
2019 CTSI Primate Signature Grant (PI): Tracking longitudinal modifications of the epigenome by a Western diet in captive vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus) and their associations with growth and obesity, with Dr. Ellen Quillen, Dr. Kylie Kavanagh, and Dr. Matthew Jorgensen. $19,201.00
2019 Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation (PI): Impact of habitat fragmentation on genetic variation in the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in Peru, with Mel Zarate**. $10,000.00
2019 Primate Conservation, Inc (PI): Impact of habitat fragmentation on genetic variation in the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in Peru, with Mel Zarate**. $2,100.00
2011 National Institutes of Health (T32) Postdoctoral Training Grant: Genomics of obesity during development in a model system (NIH/NINDS 2-T32-NS048004-06A1, Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, UCLA). $40,000
2008 National Science Foundation DDIG (Co-PI) (BCS-0824372); Assessing the Interaction of Risk Aversion and Social Organization in Juvenile Primates. $11,000
EXTERNAL GRANTS PENDING OR UNDER REVISION
2023 National Science Foundation (BCS, Biological Anthropology) DDRIG (PI): Validating Selection in the Wild: Cold-Mediated Expression of Vervet (Chlorocebus spp.) UCP1 using Fibroblast-Derived Brown Adipose Tissue, with Co-PI Christian Gagnon**. $27,185 (Pending)
2023 National Geographic Meridian Grant (PI): Assessing Technological Enhancement of Conservation Monitoring and Education for Endangered Endemic Primates in Perú. $149,994 (Pending)
2023 The Leakey Foundation (PI): Fission-Fusion Dynamics in a High-Altitude Atelin Primate (Lagothrix flavicauda), with Co-PI Evelyn Pain, Fanny Cornejo. $29,537 (Revise & Resubmit)
INTERNAL GRANTS AWARDED
2023 Pending Revision: Microbiome Initiative Accelerator Program: Gut Microbiomes and Dietary Shifts in High-Altitude Ateline Primates (Lagothrix lagothricha poeppigii and Lagothrix flavicauda) in Northern Perú, with Evelyn Pain. $29,692
2016 Boston University Center for the Humanities: Tertulia: Junior Faculty Research Seminar, with Dr. Charles Chang. $3,500
2009 New York University GSAS Travel Grant; $500
2008 NYU GSAS Sokol Research Award; A preliminary assessment of yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) behavior and population genetics. $5,000
GRADUATE TRAINEE GRANTS
2023 Dissertation Grant, The Leakey Foundation, Christian Gagnon**
2022 Honorable Mention, NSF GRFP, Benjamin Recchia**
2022 Fulbright-Hayes (Peru), Melissa Zarate** (declined)
2022 Primate Action Fund Grant, Melissa Zarate**
2022 Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship, Melissa Zarate**
2022 International Society of Primatology Research Grant, Melissa Zarate**
2019 – 2023 University of Washington Summer Institute in Statistical Genetics Scholarship. Christian Gagnon**, Melissa Zarate**, Maxwell Dippel**, Jessica Martin**
2019 National Science Foundation GRFP. Melissa Zarate**
2019 American Society of Primatologists Conservation Small Grant. Melissa Zarate**
INVITED PRESENTATIONS (N = 49; Keynote = 2; Plenary = 2; Student Invited = 2)
2023 Queer and Allies Explorer Meetup Lightning Talk, Washington, DC. Discovering the Evolutionary Origins of Obesity. March 16, 2023.
2023 National Geographic Society Headquarters, Washington, DC. The Queer Art of Fieldwork: Pitfalls and Prospects for LGBTQIA+ Field Scientists. March 13, 2023.
2023 New York University, Department of Anthropology. Monkeys in Extremis: Building Multi-Omics Models for Characterizing Adaptations to Environmental Stress in Wild Primates. Feb 8, 2023.
2022 New York Regional Primatology Seminar, CUNY Graduate Center. SNPs, Selection, and… Sunbathing? A Pipeline for Identifying Local Adaptive Variants in Widespread Savanna Monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). October 20, 2022.
2022 Invited Plenary, Faculty of Microbiology, North West University (South Africa): Genomics of Growth, Development, and Obesity in Vervet Monkeys. August 2, 2022.
2022 Invited Keynote, Arctic Science Summit Week - Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Field Safety: An Arctic Perspective: The Queer Art of Fieldwork: Fostering a More Equitable Experience for LGBTQ+ Researchers in Field-Based STEM Research. March 29, 2022.
2022 Student Invited Lecture, Department of Biology, Vanderbilt University: Savanna Monkeys in Stressful Times: Gene Expression, Growth, and the Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. February 10, 2022.
2021 Q Center, BU, Queering the Field: Fostering a More Equitable Experience for LGBTQ+ Researchers in Field-Based STEM Research. October 28, 2021.
2021 Department of Anthropology, Washington University (St. Louis). Science in Strange Times: A Pandemic Presentation on Primate Obesity and COVID-19. September 28, 2021.
2021 Department of Biology, University of Cincinnati: Science in Strange Times: A Pandemic Presentation on Primate Obesity and COVID-19. September 27, 2021.
2021 Department of Biology, University of Cincinnati: On Being a Queer Field Biologist. September 27, 2021.
2021 Education for Equity and Justice Symposium, On Being Queer in STEM/Is STEM Neutral?, panelist for Picture a Scientist. Boston, MA. June 22, 2021.
2021 The Leakey Foundation, Lunch Break Science. June 17, 2021.
2021 Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University. Science in Strange Times: A Pandemic Presentation on Primate Obesity and COVID-19. January 15, 2021.
2021 Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University. Savanna Monkeys in Stressful Times: Gene Expression, Growth, and the Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. February 26, 2021.
2021 oSTEM, Rutgers University, On Being a Queer Field Biologist, February 26, 2021.
2020 San Diego Zoo, Evolutionary Genomics, Obesity, and COVID-19: Research from a Queer Field Biologist in a Queer Time. October 7, 2020.
2020 American Fisheries Society, Annual Meeting. On Being a Queer Field Biologist. September 14, 2020.
2020 Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin – Madison: Modeling the Evolutionary Origins of Obesity: Progress and Prospects in the Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus spp.). March 10, 2020.
2020 Gender & Sexuality Campus Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison: On Being a Queer Primatologist: Challenges and Progress in Being LGBTQ+ in Field-Based STEM Research. (Cancelled due to illness). March 11, 2020.
2020 Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida. Being a Primatologist. March 2, 2020.
2019 Plenary Speaker, 2do Congreso de la Asociación Peruana de Primatología, Lima, Perú [Spanish]. Genómic evolutiva de rasgos complejos en primates. August 15, 2019.
2019 Guest Lecture, Quarto Curso de Primates en el Campo, Cocha Cashu Biological Station, Perú [Spanish]. El Estudio de la Genética de Primates Silvestres. August 25, 2019.
2019 Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town: Modeling the Evolutionary Origins of Obesity: Progress and Prospects in the Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus spp.). July 15, 2019.
2019 Faculty of Science, University of Cape Town: On Being a Queer Primatologist: Challenges and Progress in Being LGBTQ+ in Field-Based STEM Research. July 18, 2019.
2019 Tertulia: the Junior Faculty Colloquium. Boston University. Expressing the Thrifty Phenotype: Using Gene Expression Analyses to Better Understand the Evolution of Obesity. December 3, 2019.
2018 Wake Forest School of Medicine, Center for Precision Medicine: The Genomics of Obesity and Obesogenic Growth in the Vervet Model (Chlorocebus spp.), November 14, 2018.
2018 Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University: The evolutionary genomics of body size and obesity: Progress and prospects in a vervet monkey model (Chlorocebus spp.), October 19, 2018.
2018 Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary: Building a Model for the Evolutionary Genomics of Obesity: Progress and Prospects in the Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus spp.), September 24, 2018.
2018 Department of Anthropology, UMass Amherst: Towards an Integrative Understanding of the Evolution of Body Size in Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.): Human Impacts, Climate, and Genomics. March 28, 2018.
2018 Department of Anthropology, UMass Amherst: On Being a Queer Primatologist: Challenges and Progress in Field-Based STEM Research. March 28, 2018.
2018 Invited Panelist: BU Data Science Day: Epigenetics Panel: ‘Gestational Programming, Obesity, and the Transcriptome of Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). January 26, 2018.
2017 Invited Panelist: Crafting Your Online Scholarly Persona: '#BlueScrotumSummer: Social Media and Primatology from the Field, October 25, 2017.
2017 Invited Discussant: Anthropology Matters - Fighting essentialist ideas
about poverty, race, and intelligence in the Trump Era, American Anthropological Association, December 2, 2017.
2017 Student Invited, Pennsylvania State University: Ecogeographic, genomic, and
anthropogenically mediated variation related to body mass and growth in the genus Chlorocebus. October 6, 2017.
2016 Invited Keynote: ‘Look How You’ve Grown!’: Integrative Perspectives on
Growth and Development in Primatology, Northeastern Evolutionary Primatology Conference, Hunter College. November 4, 2016.
2016 Invited Panelist: Talking Primates: Developing Tactics to Better Communicate Research in Primatology. IPS/ASP 2016, Chicago, IL. August 22, 2016.
2016 University of Cape Town: The integration of quantitative genetics, paleontology, and neontology reveals genetic underpinnings of primate dental evolution, August 10, 2016.
2016 University of Zürich: Life History, Development, and Genomics in the Genus Chlorocebus, March 7, 2016.
2015 Department of Anthropology, Boston University: Genomics, Development, and the Evolution of Obesity, April 16, 2015.
2014 Department of Anthropology, Florida Atlantic University: Anthropological Genomics, Nov 5, 2014.
2014 Department of Anthropology, UC Davis: Genomics of obesogenic growth in vervets, Oct 6, 2014.
2014 UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture: The genomics of obesogenic growth during development in captive vervets, Apr 7, 2014.
2014 Department of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley: Genomics of obesogenic growth in vervet monkeys, Feb 28, 2014.
2014 Department of Anatomy, University of North Texas Health Sciences, Fort Worth, TX: Heritability of obesogenic growth in captive vervet monkeys, Feb 7, 2014.
2014 AGAR Primate Genomics Workshop, San Antonio, TX. Establishing a wild primate model for analysis of complex traits. January 9, 2014.
2012 Neurobehavioral Genetics Retreat, Los Angeles, CA. Preliminary analyses of stress responses in trapped wild South African vervet monkeys. February 13, 2012.
2010 NYCEP Seminar, New York, NY. Risk Aversion and Social Organization in Juvenile Atelin Primates, March 26, 2010.
2008 Special Colloquium, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador. Estudios Poblaciones de Varias Especies de Monos en la Amazonía del Ecuador. [Spanish] November 20, 2008.
CHAIRED SYMPOSIA AND SESSIONS (N = 8)
2023 AAAG/AABA Joint Symposium: Born Which Way?: Biological and Genetic Engagement in Sex, Gender, and Sexuality Research. Co-organizer
with Zachary DuBois. AABA. Reno, NV. April 19-25, 2022.
2021 Primate Ecology and Life History. Co-organizer with Cheryl Knott and Eva Garrett. NEEP. Boston, MA. November 4-5, 2021.
2016 Comparative Approaches to Primate Immunity and Health. Co-organizer with Jessica Brinkworth. IPS/ASP 2016. Chicago, IL. August 21-29, 2016.
2016 Roundtable on Diversity in Primatology. IPS/ASP 2016. Chicago, IL. August 21-29, 2016.
2014 Cross-Disciplinary Research in the Genus Chlorocebus. Co-organizer with Trudy R Turner and Jennifer Danzy Cramer. AAPA. Calgary, AB. April 9
– 13, 2014.
2014 Primate Genomics Workshop, Texas Biomedical and American Association for Anthropological Genetics. Co-Organizer with Ellen Quillen and
Heather Norton. January 9-10, 2014.
2013 Primatology: Sex, Sociality, Ontogeny, Captivity. American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Knoxville, TN. April 9 – 13, 2013.
2010 Juvenile Primates: It’s About Time! Co-organizer with Connie D. Fellmann. American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Albuquerque,
NM. April 14 – 18, 2010.
CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS
All conference abstracts (2005 – present): 100
First authored: 22 (AABA, ASP, IPS, ASHG, AAA, PEGG)
With students/trainees: 40 (AABA, ASP, IPS, PEGG, NEEP, GSI)
PUBLISHED ABSTRACTS
2023 Schmitt CA. Building a multi-omics non-human primate model system for understanding the evolution of complex traits… with queer theory. American Anthropological Association, Toronto, ON.
2023 Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Evidence of selection in the FABP4 gene region suggests thermoregulatory adaptation to cold in temperatures in savanna monkeys. American Association of Biological Anthropologists, Reno, NV.
2023 Dippel M**, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Genetic Variation in Heat Shock Protein HSPA1L in Savanna Monkeys: Implications for Heat Resilience. American Society of Primatologists, Reno, NV.
2022 Brown M, Schmitt CA, Loyola LC, Douglas LR, Blair ME. Faculty preferences for fieldwork experience in graduate program applications. Am J Biol Anthropol, 177:23.
2022 Zarate MA**, Charpentier E, Shanee S, Schmitt CA. Predicting the presence of the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) using habitat suitability models and newly confirmed localities in Junín, Peru. Am J Biol Anthropol, 177:203.
2021 Gagnon CM**, Schmitt CA. Phylogenetic analysis of the UCP1 gene in primates reveals clade-specific structural variation. Am J Phys Anthropol, 174:37.
2021 Monson TA, Brasil MF, Schmitt CA, Taylor CE, Yohler R, Hlusko LJ. Using phenotypic integration to understand the evolution of the cercopithecid maxillary dentition. Am J Phys Anthropol, 174: 74.
2021 Angley LP**, Mikulski N*, Sievert O, Salb AL, Schmitt CA. Post-release survival rates and welfare of rehabilitated vervet monkeys in Malawi. Animal Behavior Society (Online).
2021 Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Evidence of selection in the UCP1 gene region suggests local adaptation to irradiance rather than cold temperatures in savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). 89th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists (Online).
2021 Zarate M**, Schmitt CA. Predicting presence of the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) using habitat sustainability models between previous and new population ranges in Peru. Joint Meeting of the International Primatological Society and the Latin American Society of Primatologists, Quito, Ecuador.
2021 Grob GM*, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Selection in the PPARG gene in relation to cold in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). 2020. Joint Meeting of the International Primatological Society and the Latin American Society of Primatologists, Quito, Ecuador.
2021 Schmitt CA, Cooper T*, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR. Selection in the TRPM8 gene region suggests selection for cold sensitivity in South African vervets. Joint Meeting of the International Primatological Society and the Latin American Society of Primatologists, Quito, Ecuador.
2021 Beasley M, Lasisi T, Schmitt CA, Molopyane K, Ocobock C, Kissel M, Dunsworth H. Bringing truth to a post-truth world: how anthropologists engage and assess their science communication. Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association. Baltimore, MD.
2020 Schmitt CA, Quillen EE. Expressing the thrifty phenotype? Associations between lifelong growth trajectories and whole genome expression variation in captive baboons (Papio hamadryas). Am J Phys Anthropol, 171: 252-253.
2020 Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR. Schmitt CA. Evidence of selection in the UCP1 gene region suggests local adaptation to cold temperatures in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). Am J Primatol, 171: 82.
2020 DeCamp RM, Poindexter SA, Schmitt CA, Garrett EC. Lemurs smell better than catarrhines. Am J Primatol, 171: 67.
2020 Rich AM***, Mokgokong SP, Blaszczyk MB***, Dalton DL, Amato KR, Schmitt CA. Signatures of development in the gastrointestinal microbiome of wild savanna monkeys. Am J Phys Anthropol, 171: 234.
2019 Rich AM***, Schmitt CA, Wasserman MD, Hunt KD, Kaestle FA. Mitochondrial DNA demonstrates the significance of a Western Gateway in Uganda for Eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) gene flow. Am J Phys Anthropol, 168(S68):203-204.
2019 Parke SR*, Rich AM***, Blaszczyk MB, Schmitt CA. Timing of reproductive onset among female vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in wild and human-impacted populations. Am J Phys Anthropol, 168(S68):185-186.
2019 Hlusko LJ, Brasil MF, Boisserie J-R, Clay SM, Dvorestsky R, Monson TM, Ravindramurthy S, Schmitt CA, Souron A, Takenaka R, Ungar PS, Yoo S, Zhou M, Zuercher ME. Insights from genotype:phenotype mapping the mammalian postcanine dentition. J Morphol, 280:S15.
2018 Schmitt CA, Razdan E*, Blaszczyk MB***. Anthropogenic food sources buffer South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) from ecological stressors, but with high costs. International Primatological Society, Nairobi, Kenya.
2018 Schmitt CA, Cooke SB, Brasil MF, Monson TA, Hlusko LJ. Genetically patterned dental phenotypes show evidence for diet-related evolutionary change in platyrrhine primates. Am J Phys Anthropol, 165: 242-243.
2018 Taboada H, Antón SC, Williams SA, Laird MF, Stock MK, Villamil CI, Bauman Surrat SE, Gonzalez-Velez O, Schmitt CA, Dubuc C, Higham JP. Intra-demic morphological variation: using the Cayo Santiago macaques to model plasticity in the fossil record. Am J Phys Anthropol, 165: 269.
2018 O’Shea N, Raaum R, Schmitt CA, Svardal H, Delson E. Differential preservation of population history in vervet skull anatomy. Am J Phys Anthropol, 165: 194-195.
2018 Senghore M, Bayliss SC, Kwambana-Adams BA, Foster-Nyarko E, Manneh J, Dione M, Badji H, Ebruke C, Doughty EL, Thorpe HA, Jasinska AJ, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Turner TR, Weinstock G, Freimer NB, Pallen MJ, Feil EJ, Antonio M. Anthroponotic transmission and evolution of Staphylococccus aureus in green vervet monkeys from The Gambia. Am J Phys Anthropol, 194: 248.
2018 Foster-Nyarko E, Kwambana- Adams BA, Senghore M, Manneh J, Dione M, Jasinska AJ, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Turner TR, Weinstock G, Antonio M. Isolation, antibiotic resistance and high co-colonisation of human pathogens among human-habituated wild monkeys in The Gambia. Am J Phys Anthropol, 165: 88.
2017 Lukas N*, Schmitt CA. Relationship between 2D:4D and adult-onset obesity in captive vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus). Annual Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists, Washington DC.
2017 Sayed M*, Schmitt CA. Assessment of a novel method of photogrammetry not requiring lasers in parallel. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists, Washington DC.
2017 Schmitt CA, Astorino CM, Meredith SL. 2017. Queer developments: LGBTQIA perspectives on ontogeny, growth and development, and ranges of variation in human and nonhuman primates. Am J Phys Anthropol 162(S64): 348.
2017 Brasil MF, Monson TA, Schmitt CA, Hlusko LJ. Plio-Pleistoene hominid diversity interpreted through the genetic mechanisms that pattern the dentition. Am J Phys Anthropol 162(S64): 218.
2017 Amato KR, Schmitt CA. Creating context: Using non-human primates to understand the relationship between gut microbes and human diet, physiology, and health. Am J Phys Anthropol 162(S64): 99.
2017 Svardal H, Jasinska A, Schmitt CA, Huang Y, Weinstock G, Grobler JP, Wilson RK, Warren WC, Freimer NB, Nordberg M, Turner TR. Population genomics disentangles taxonomix relationships and identifies ancient hybridization in the genus Chlorocebus. Am J Phys Anthropol 162(S64): 388.
2016 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Lorenz JG, Grobler JP, Freimer NB. Pre-pubertal growth within the genus Chlorocebus: Population-specific variation and life history evolution in a wide-spread taxon. IPS/ASP, Chicago, IL.
2016 Schmitt CA, Turner TR, Cramer JD, Lorenz J, Grobler JP, Freimer NB. Comparative growth and static allometry in the genus Chlorocebus. Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Atlanta, GA.
2016 Hlusko LJ, Brasil M, Clay S, Höhna S, Huelsenbeck J, Huffman M, Monson T, Takenaka R, Schmitt CA, Yoo S, Mahaney M. Genetic and phenotypic modularity in the mammalian dental arcade. International Congress on Vertebrate Morphology, Washington, DC.
2015 Schmitt CA, Service S, Cantor RM, Jasinska AJ, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, and Freimer NB. Maternal effects influence the heritability of adult obesity traits but not obesogenic growth trajectories in vervet monkeys. Am J Phys Anthropol 156: 279.
2015 Abondano LA, Fernandez-Duque E, Link A, Schmitt CA, Di Fiore A. Re-evaluation of sexual selection theory for canine size in New World monkeys: Implications for Pitheciine primates. Am J Phys Anthropol 156: 65.
2014 Schmitt CA, Service S, Cantor RM, Jasinska AJ, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, and Freimer NB. Maternal effects influence the heritability of adult obesity traits but not obesogenic growth trajectories in a model system. American Society of Human Genetics, San Diego, CA.
2014 Schmitt CA, Service S, Cantor RM, Jasinska AJ, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, and Freimer NB. High genetic heritability of obesogenic growth in captive vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). Am J Primatol 76 (Suppl 1): 74.
2014 Schmitt CA, Fairbanks LA, Gaetano TJ, Beller MB, Turner TR, and Freimer NB. Population variation in behavioral responses to trapping among South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). International Primatological Society, Hanoi, Vietnam.
2014 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Lorenz JG, Gobler JP, and Freimer NB. Taxonomic variation in pre-pubertal growth trajectories within the genus Chlorocebus. International Primatological Society, Hanoi, Vietnam.
2014 Cramer JD, Milich K, Bahr J, Gaetano TJ, Grobler JP, Stumpf R, Schmitt CA, Freimer NB, and Turner TR. A preliminary investigation of the relationship between blue sexual skin color and fecal glucocorticoids in South African vervet monkeys (Ch. a. pygerythrus). International Primatological Society, Hanoi, Vietnam.
2014 Schmitt CA, Service S, Cantor RM, Jasinska AJ, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, and Freimer NB. Heritability of obesogenic growth trajectories during development in captive vervet monkeys (Chlorcebus aethiops sabaeus). Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 231-232.
2014 Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Lorenz J, Grobler JP, and Freimer NB. Comparative developmental morphology within the genus Chlorocebus. Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 257.
2014 Svardal H, Huang Y, Schmitt CA, Jasinska AJ, Jung Y, Wasserscheid J, Jureticx N, Muller-Trutwin M, Jacquelin B, Antonio M, Dione M, Grobler P, Wilson RK, Dewar K, Warren W, Weinstock G, Turner T, Nordborg M, and Freimer NB. The evolutionary history of the genus Chlorocebus inferred from whole genome sequencing. Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 250.
2014 Jasinska AJ, Schmitt CA, Ma D, Huang Y, Svardal H, Wasserscheid J, Grobler P, Jorgensen MJ, Muller-Trutwin M, Antonio M, Dewar K, Warren W, Weinstock G, Pandrea I, Apetrei C, Norborg M, Woods R, Jentsch D, Turner TR, and Freimer NB. Biological resources for genomic investigation in vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus). Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 151-152.
2014 Grobler JP, Coetzer WG, Schmitt CA, Lorenz J, and Turner TR. Genetic differentiation in South African vervet monkeys: Landscape features define routes of migration. Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 131.
2014 Cramer JD, Rodriguez RL, Schmitt CA, Gaetano TJ, Grobler J, Freimer NB, and Turner TR. Patterns of variation in the static allometry of sexual and non-sexual traits in vervet monkeys. Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 102.
2014 Apetrei C, Ma D, Jasinska AJ, Kristoff J, Grobler JP, Antonio M, Jung Y, Schmitt CA, Raehtz K, Feyertag F, Wijevardana V, Robertson DL, Tracy R, Pandrea I, and Freimer NB. Pathogenesis of SIVagm infection in wild African Green Monkeys. Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 68.
2014 Di Fiore A, Schmitt CA, and Fernandez-Duque E. Morphometrics of wild woolly monkeys: Implications of sexual dimorphism in body and canine size. Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 106.
2014 Cepon-Robins TJ, Anton SC, Crowder CM, Duren DL, Fernandez-Duque E, Leigh SR, Madimenos FC, McGraw WS, Middleton ER, Rainwater CW, Schmitt CA, Sherwood RJ, Stinson S, Stubblefield P, Turner TR, Valeggia C, and Snodgrass JJ. Next steps and best practices in primatology, human biology, forensic anthropology, and paleoanthropology for the Bones and Behavior Project. Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 92-93.
2014 Ellis KM, Pain E, Schmitt CA, and Di Fiore A. Ranging and association patterns of woolly monkeys (Lagothrix poeppigii) in lowland Ecuador. Am J Phys Anthropol 153 (Suppl 58): 113-114.
2013 Schmitt CA, Service S, Cantor RM, Jasinska AJ, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, and Freimer NB. Heritability of obesogenic growth trajectories during development in a model system. Am Soc Hum Genet, 2013, Boston, MA.
2013 Schmitt CA, Service S, Cantor RM, Jasinska AJ, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, and Freimer NB. Genetics and development of obesity in captive vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Am J Phys Anthropol 150 (Suppl 56): 243.
2012 Schmitt CA, Service S, Cantor RM, Jasinska AJ, Jorgensen MJ, Kaplan JR, Weinstock G, Warren W, and Freimer NB. Genetics of obesity across development in a model system. American Society of Human Genetics, San Francisco, CA.
2012 Grobler JP, Coetseer G, Dore KM, Lorenz J, Schmitt CA, Freimer N, Turner TR. Genetic differentiation in populations of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) in South Africa. International Primatological Society, Cancun, Mexico.
2012 Danzy J, Gaetano TJ, Mtshali MS, Grobler JP, Theron N, Schmitt CA, Freimer NB and Turner TR. Environment and anthropogenic factors associated with gastrointestinal parasites among free ranging South African vervet monkeys. International Primatological Society, Cancun, Mexico
2012 Chaves PB, Cornejo F, Shanee S, Shanee N, Schmitt CA, Cortés-Ortiz L, Roos C, Pacheco V, and Di Fiore A. Ateline phylogenetics revisited: An assessment of the position of yellow-tailed woolly monkey based on nuclear DNA sequences and complete mtDNA genomes. International Primatological Society, Cancun, Mexico
2011 Danzy J, Grobler JP, Gaetano T, Schmitt CA, Lorenz J, Freimer N, Turner T. A link between color and secondary sexual characteristics among free ranging vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops pygerythrus). American Society of Primatologists, Austin TX.
2010 Schmitt CA and Di Fiore A. The influence of social cohesion on the development
of sex-specific association patterns in juvenile atelin primates. International Primatological Society, Kyoto, Japan.
2010 Dacier A, Pozzi L, Schmitt CA, and Di Fiore A. Vocal repertoire of woolly monkeys
(Lagothrix poeppigii) in the Ecuadorian Amazon. International Primatological Society, Kyoto, Japan.
2010 Middleton ER, Schmitt CA, and Di Fiore A. Locomotor and positional behavior in
juvenile lowland woolly monkeys (Lagothrix poeppigii). International Primatological Society, Kyoto, Japan.
2010 Schmitt CA and Di Fiore A. The interaction of social organization and juvenile risk aversion: a case study in atelin primates. Am J Phys Anthropol (Suppl 50): 208.
2009 Schmitt CA, Harris H, Kendall T, Weidenbeck J, Zug A, and Di Fiore A. Predation risk sensitivity and the spatial organization of primate groups: A case study of lowland woolly monkeys (Lagothrix poeppigii). Animal Behavior Society, Pirenopolis, Brazil.
2009 Anton SC, Snodgrass JJ, Crowder C, Di Fiore A, Duren DL, Fernandez-Duque E, Leonard WR, Leigh SR, Madimenos FC, McGraw WS, Middleton E, Schmitt C, Sherwood RJ, Stinson S, Stubblefield P, Turner T, Valeggia CR, White FJ. 2009. Integrative measurement protocol for morphological and behavioral research in human and nonhuman primates. (2009). Am J Phys Anthropol (Suppl 48): 78-79.
2007 Schmitt CA, Di Fiore A, Link A, Matthews LJ, Montague MJ, Derby AM, Field MY, Hurst D, Carrillo G, Sendall C, and Fernandez-Duque E. Comparative ranging behavior of eight species of primates in a western Amazonian rainforest. Am J Phys Anthropol (Suppl 44): 208-209.
2007 Matthews LJ and Schmitt CA. Courtship behaviors of the genus Cebus: A test case for inferences from phylogeny. Am J Phys Anthropol (Suppl 44): 166.
CONFERENCE PAPER AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS
2022 Adadevoh J, Borsch T, Ferreira A, Giles A, Rich AG, Glenn W, Johnson B, Nguyen TT, Schmitt CA, Stephens J, Wilton M, Casper A, Eddy S. LGBTQ+ experiences in STEM: A systematic literature review. Undergraduate Biology Conference, Westfield State University. Westfield, MA.
2022 Gagnon CM**, Schmitt CA. Phylogenetic analysis of the UCP1 gene in primates reveals clade-specific structural variation. 2022 GSI Research Symposium. Boston, MA.
2022 Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Evidence of selection in the FABP4 gene region suggests thermoregulatory adaptation to cold in temperatures in savanna monkeys. NEEP 2022, Buffalo, NY.
2022 Henderson WB**, Garrett EC, Schmitt CA, Leiss A. 2022. Can insular dwarfism be applied to restricted territories/home ranges within larger spaces? A case to explain shortened hominin stature. NEEP 2022, Buffalo, NY.
2021 Zarate MA**, Shanee S, Schmitt CA. Current distribution and predicted suitable habitat for the Critically Endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in Peru. 7th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists. Boston, MA.
2021 Sun E**, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Investigating selection in the PLIN2 (Perilipin-2) gene among wild savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). 7th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists. Boston, MA.
2021 Gagnon CM**, Kavanagh K, Schmitt CA. A method for estimating supraclavicular brown adipose tissue volume using CT scans. 7th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists. Boston, MA.
2020 Sun E*, Gagnon CM** Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Investigating selection in the PLIN2 (Perilipin-2) gene among wild savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). 6th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists.
2020 Hilsenrath J*, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Investigating selection in the CXCR6 gene in wild savanna monkeys. 6th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists.
2020 Louisor K*, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Characterizing population variation in the ASPM gene region among savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). 6th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists.
2020 Gagnon CM**, Schmitt CA. Phlyogenetic analysis of the UCP1 gene in primates reveals clade-specific structural variation. 6th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists.
2020 Zarate M**, Schmitt CA. Predicting presence of the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) using habitat sustainability models between previous and new population ranges in Peru. 6th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists.
2020 Angley L**, Schmitt CA. Establishing behavioral diversity as an index of stress in savanna monkeys. 6th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists.
2019 Schmitt CA, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR. Evidence of selection in the UCP1 gene region suggests local adaptation to cold temperatures in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). 17th Annual Meeting of the Primate Ecology and Genetics Group (South African Primatological Society), National Zoological Gardens, Pretoria, South Africa.
2019 Rich AM***, Parke SR*, Blaszczyk MB***, Cramer JD, Lorenz J, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Anthropogenic food enhancement alters the timing of reproductive onset among wild savanna monkeys. 17th Annual Meeting of the Primate Ecology and Genetics Group (South African Primatological Society), National Zoological Gardens, Pretoria, South Africa.
2019 Grobler JP, Coetzer WG, Schmitt CA, Turner TR. Patterns of neutral and adaptive genetic diversity in South African vervet monkey populations. 17th Annual Meeting of the Primate Ecology and Genetics Group (South African Primatological Society), National Zoological Gardens, Pretoria, South Africa.
2019 Cooper T*, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. TRPM8 analysis suggests regional selection for cold sensitivity in South African vervets. 5th Conference of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatology Group. Amherst, MA.
2019 Grob GM*, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Selection in the PPARG gene in relation to cold in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). 5th Conference of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatology Group. Amherst, MA.
2019 Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Evidence of selection in the UCP1 gene region suggests local adaptation to cold temperatures in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). 5th Conference of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatology Group. Amherst, MA.
2019 Zarate MA**, Cornejo FM, Shanee S, Schmitt CA. Impact of habitat fragmentation on genetic diversity of the Critically Endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in Peru. 5th Conference of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatology Group. Amherst, MA.
2019 Zarate MA**, Cornejo FM, Shanee S, Schmitt CA. Impact of habitat fragmentation on genetic diversity of the Critically Endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in Peru. 2nd Congress of the Peruvian Primatological Association. Lima, Peru.
2019 Grob GM*, Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Selection in the PPARG gene in relation to cold in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). 2019 Annual Genome Science Institute Research Symposium. Boston, MA.
2019 Gagnon CM**, Svardal H, Jasinska AJ, Freimer NB, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Evidence of selection in the UCP1 gene region suggests local adaptation to irradiance rather than cold temperatures in savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.). 2019 Annual Genome Science Institute Research Symposium. Boston, MA.
2018 Parke SA*, Rich AM***, Blaszczyk MB***, Schmitt CA. Timing of reproductive onset among female vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in wild and human impacted populations. 4th Conference of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatology Group. Buffalo, NY.
2018 Rich AM***, Parke SA*, Blaszczyk MB***, Cramer JD, Grobler JP, Freimer NB, Turner TR, Schmitt CA. Female genital variation in two South African populations of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). 15th Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Primate Interest Group. Bloomington, IN.
2018 Parke SR*, Rich AM***, Blaszczyk MB***, Schmitt CA. Timing of reproductive onset among female vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in wild and human impacted populations. 15th Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Primate Interest Group. Bloomington, IN.
2018 Coetzer W, Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Grobler JP. Adaptive genetic variation at three loci in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and the role of selection within primates. South African Society for Bioinformatics/South African Genetics Society, Golden Gate National Park, Free State, South Africa.
2013 Huang YS, Svardal H, Schmitt CA, Jasinska AJ, Wasscheid J, Juretic N, Muller-Trutwin M, Jacquelin B, Antonio M, Dione M, Grobler JP, Wilson RK, Dewar K, Warren W, Weinstock G, Turner T, Nordborg M, and Freimer NB. The population history of African and Caribbean vervet monkeys inferred from 130 whole-genome-sequenced samples. The Biology of Genomes Conference, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
2012 Jasinska A, Ma D, Tran N, Bloom C, Kristoff J, Grobler P, Turner T, Jung J, Schmitt C, Raehtz K, Martinez N, Burke D, Tracy R, Pandrea I, Apetrei C, and Freimer N. Whole genome and transcriptome characterization of South African wild AGM populations heavily infected with SIVagmVer. 5th International Conference on Primate Genomics.
2011 Ma D, Jasinska AJ, Grobler JP, Turner TR, Jung YJ, Schmitt CA, Kristoff J, Martinez N, Burke D, Tracy R, Pandrea I, Freimer NB, and Apetrei C. SIVagmVer Infection in Wild African Green Monkeys (AGMs) from Republic of South Africa (RSA): Prevalence, Incidence, Diversity, Natural History and Evolutionary Considerations, The 29th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models, Seattle, WA.
2011 Jasinska AJ, Tran N, Huang Y, Schmitt C, Choi O-W, DeYoung J, Jung Y, Coppola G, Ma M, Apetrei C, Pandrea I, Turner T, Grobler P, Antonio M, Dione M, Wasserscheid J, Dewar K, Warren W, Freimer NB. Vervet or African green monkey (AGM) as a system for genetic study of SIV infection and progression. The 29th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models, Seattle, USA
2010 Schmitt CA and Di Fiore A. Sex-specific behavioral patterns in juvenile lowland woolly monkeys (Lagothrix poeppigii). Prim Ecol Genet Grp, South Africa.
2005 Schmitt CA, Di Fiore A, Hurst D, and Fernandez-Duque E. Maternally initiated babysitting in adult male equatorial sakis (Pithecia aequatorialis) in Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. “Monkeys Old & New” NYCEP.
TEACHING AND PEDAGOGY
TEACHING POSITIONS AND COURSES (N = 15 unique courses developed)
2015 – pres. Boston University, Department of Anthropology
Assistant Professor
Anthropology 102: Human Behavioral Biology and Evolution
Fall 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022; Spring 2017
Anthropology/WGS 233: Evolutionary Biology of Human Variation
Fall 2016; Spring 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
Anthropology 331: Human Origins
Spring 2016
Anthropology/Biology 333/733: Human Population Genetics
Fall 2015, 2018, 2020
Anthropology/Biology 336/736: Primate Behavioral Ecology
Spring 2016; Fall 2017, 2021
Anthropology 551: Anthropology and Human Heredity
Spring 2018, 2022
Anthropology 558: Evolution of Human Sex Differences
Spring 2017
Anthropology/Biology 588: Project Design and Statistics in Biol. Anthro.
Fall 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023
WGS 102: Introduction to Gender & Sexuality II
Spring 2019, 2021, 2023
2016 University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Department of Anthropology
Instructor
Primate Conservation Genetics (Field Course; South Africa)
2014 – 2015 University of California – Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology
Lecturer
Integrative Biology 35: Human Biological Variation (Fall 2015)
2013 – 2014 University of Southern California, Department of Anthropology
Lecturer
Anthropology 200: Origins of Humanity (Fall 2013, Spring 2014)
Anthropology 300: Evolution, Ecology, and Culture (Fall 2013)
Anthropology 304: Primate Social Behavior (Fall 2013)
Anthropology 406: Special Topic: Primate Life Histories (Spring 2014)
2012 University of California – Los Angeles, Department of Psychology
Lecturer
Psychology 118: Comparative Psychobiology (Spring 2012)
2009 – 2013 Maderas Rainforest Conservancy (Summer Field Courses)
Instructor
Primate Behavior and Ecology (Costa Rica; 2012, 2013)
Advanced Primate Behavior and Ecology (Nicaragua; 2009)
2005 – 2010 New York University, Department of Anthropology
Teaching Assistant
Anthropology: Human Evolution (Fall 2005, 2006, 2009)
Anthropology: Human Origins (Spring 2006, 2007)
Anthropology: Evolution of Sex and Human Sexuality (Spring 2009)
2001 University of Wisconsin – Madison, Department of Sociology
Teaching Assistant
Sociology: Introduction to LGBT Studies (Spring 2001)
GUEST LECTURES (N = 18)
2022 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for Graduate Survey in Biology (GRS BI 671), Dr. Sarah Davies, Department of Biology.
2022 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for History, Methods and Theory in Biological Anthropology (GMS FA 790), Dr. Sean Tallman, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology.
2022 Is There a Material Culture of Primate Behavior? Guest lecture for Anthropology Across Subdisciplines: Material Culture (GRS AN 701), Dr. Andrea Berlin, Department of Anthropology.
2022 Primate Disease Ecology: SIV and COVID-19. Guest lecture for Primate Ecology & Evolution, Dr. Nathaniel Dominy, Dartmouth College (Cancelled due to illness).
2021 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for Graduate Survey in Biology (GRS BI 671), Dr. Sarah Davies, Department of Biology.
2021 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for History, Methods and Theory in Biological Anthropology (GMS FA 790), Dr. Sean Tallman, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology.
2020 Kinship in Non-Human Primates. Guest lecture for Anthropology Across Sub-Disciplines: Family (GRS AN 701), Dr. Joanna Davidson, Department of Anthropology.
2020 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for Graduate Survey in Biology (GRS BI 671), Dr. Sarah Davies, Department of Biology.
2020 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for History, Methods and Theory in Biological Anthropology (GMS FA 790), Dr. Sean Tallman, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology.
2019 Queer Theory and Biological Anthropology. Guest Lecture for Anthropology Across Subdisciplines: Sex (GRS AN 701), Dr. Cheryl Knott, Department of Anthropology.
2019 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for Graduate Survey in Biology (GRS BI 671), Dr. Sarah Davies, Department of Biology.
2019 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for History, Methods and Theory in Biological Anthropology (GMS FA 790), Dr. Sean Tallman, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology.
2018 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for Graduate Survey in Biology (GRS BI 671), Dr. Pete Buston, Department of Biology.
2018 Towards an Integrative Evolutionary Biology of Obesity. Guest lecture for History, Methods and Theory in Biological Anthropology (GMS FA 790), Dr. Sean Tallman, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology.
2018 On Primate Diets and Paleodiet Reconstructions. Guest lecture for Eating and Drinking in the Ancient World (CAS AR 280), Dr. John Marston, Department of Archaeology, Boston University.
2018 The Science of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality. Guest lecture for WGS Graduate Survey Course (GRS WS 801), Dr. Takeo Rivera.
2016 Digging in to Homo naledi: A Discussion of Methods and Media Surrounding Our Newest Human Ancestor. Brown bag lunch presentation, Department of Archaeology, Boston University.
2016 On Primate Diets and Paleodiet Reconstructions. Guest lecture for Eating and Drinking in the Ancient World (CAS AR 280), Dr. John Marston, Department of Archaeology, Boston University.
PEDAGOGICAL MEDIA
2022 Using Science Communication to Foster Inclusive Design and Critical Science Literacy in an Introductory STEM Course. Teaching Project, Hub-CTL Teaching Collective.
https://bu.digication.com/hub-ctlcollective22/schmitt-anthropology
2021 On Being a Queer in STEM: Prospects and Progress (Video). Education for Equity and Democracy Symposium.
2019 On Being a Queer Field Scientist. Interview segment in De-Colonizing the Sciences (MOOC), University of Cape Town. Becky Ackermann (Developer).
2019 Meet a Scientist Who Studies Variation in Monkey Populations. Educational material for Amplify Science education outreach series for middle-school age students by University of California. Lawrence Laboratory, University of California.
2019 Careers in Science: Primate Genomicist. Educational supplement for California high school science textbooks. Math & Science Studio, Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt.
2019 Scientist Spotlight (featured, w/ Stephanie Meredith), college-level educational material. Ciarán Bewster, Melanie Bocanegra (Developers). California State University (National Science Foundation, 1928737).
OTHER EDUCATIONAL TALKS/OUTPUTS
2023 What Can (and Can’t) Biology Tell Us About Who We Are? Faculty Speaker, CAS Accepted Students Major’s Fair, Boston University
2023 Non-Academic Publishing, Anthropology Graduate Professional Development Seminar, Boston University
2022 TF Orientation, Department of Anthropology, Boston University
2022 Faculty Speaker, Transfer Student Welcome, Boston University
2022 What Can (and Can’t) Biology Tell Us About Who We Are? Faculty Speaker, CAS Accepted Students Major’s Fair, Boston University
2021 What Can (and Can’t) Biology Tell Us About Who We Are? Faculty Speaker, CAS Accepted Students Major’s Fair, Boston University
2021 Faculty Speaker, Transfer Student Welcome, Boston University
2020 What Can (and Can’t) Biology Tell Us About Who We Are? Faculty Speaker, CAS Accepted Students Major’s Fair, Boston University
2020 Faculty Speaker, Transfer Student Welcome, Boston University
2019 What Can (and Can’t) Biology Tell Us About Who We Are? Faculty Speaker, CAS Accepted Students Major’s Fair, Boston University
2019 TF Orientation, Department of Anthropology, Boston University
2019 Organizer, Boston University Biological Anthropology Recruitment Reception, Annual Meeting of the AABA
2018 Self-Professionalization at BU, Anthropology Graduate Professional Development Seminar, Boston University
2017 Faculty Representative, CAS Accepted Students Major’s Fair, Boston University
2017 Faculty Representative, CAS Open House Major’s Fair, Boston University
2017 Diversity in Science, Biology Graduate Student’s Association Brown Bag, Boston University
2016 How to Write a Job Talk, Department of Archaeology Brown Bag, Boston University
2015 Faculty Representative, CAS Accepted Students Major’s Fair, Boston University
ADVISING AND MENTORSHIP (* = current mentees)
POSTDOCTORAL
2022 – pres. *Evelyn LeMay Pain, Ph.D. (Stony Brook University)
2018 – 2019 Alicia M. Rich, Ph.D. (Indiana University)
Current position: Assistant Professor of Zoo and Conservation Science, Otterbein University
2016 Maryjka B. Blaszczyk, M.B.Ch.B, Ph.D. (New York University)
Current position: Resident in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University
GRADUATE
Primary Advisor/Co-Advisor (7 current; 5 graduated)
2018 – pres. *Christian Gagnon, Ph.D. Anthropology, Boston University
Dissertation: The Evolutionary History and Adaptive Significance of UCP1-Mediated Thermogenesis in Primates
2020 – pres. *Melissa Zarate, Ph.D. Anthropology, Boston University
Dissertation: Landscape Mitogenomics and High-Altitude Adaptation in the Peruvian Yellow-Tailed Woolly Monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda)
2020 – pres. *Zoe Albert, Co-Advisor, Ph.D. Anthropology, Boston University
2021 – pres. *Warrenkevin Henderson, Co-Advisor, Ph.D. Anthro, Boston University
2022 – pres. *Jessica Martin, Ph.D. Anthropology, Boston University
2023 – pres. *Jimmy Erkens, Ph.D. Anthropology, Boston University
2022 – pres. *Victoria Zdanowicz, Co-Advisor, M.S. Biology, Boston University
2021 – 2023 Maxwell Dippel, M.S. Biology, Boston University
Thesis: Genetic Variation in Heat Shock Protein HSPA1L in Savanna Monkeys: Implications for Heat Resilience
2021 – 2023 Sophia Long, B.A./M.S. Biology, Boston University
2021 Benjamin Recchia, M.S. Biology, Boston University (transferred)
2019 – 2021 Laura Angley, M.S. Biology, Boston University
Thesis: Post-Release Survival Rates and Welfare of Rehabilitated Vervet Monkeys in Malawi
2019 – 2021 Erica Sun, B.A./M.S. Biology, Boston University
Thesis: Selection in the PLIN2 (Perilipin-2) Gene Among Wild Savanna Monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.)
2018 – 2020 Melissa Zarate, M.S. Biology, Boston University
Thesis: Predicting Suitable Habitat for the Critically Endangered Yellow-Tailed Woolly Monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in Perú
Reader/Committee Member (4 current, 11 graduated)
2018 – pres. *James Fifer, Ph.D. Biology (Chair), Boston University
2018 – pres. *Jessica Hlay, Ph.D. Anthropology (3rd Reader), Boston University
2019 – pres. *Laura Brubaker-Whittman, Ph.D. Anthropology (2nd Reader), BU
2021 – pres. *Frank Short, Ph.D. Anthropology (2nd Reader), Boston University
2017 – 2023 Faye Harwell, Ph.D. Anthropology (3rd Reader), Boston University
Dissertation: Investigation of the Life History, Male Bimaturism, and Sex Differences of Orangutans
2017 – 2023 Graham Albert, Ph.D. Anthropology (3rd Reader), Boston University
Dissertation: Testing the Effects of Facial Sexual Dimorphism on Selective Attention, Memory, and Decision Making
2018 – 2023 Nicola Kriefall, Ph.D. Biology (4th Reader), Boston University
Dissertation: Environmental Drivers of Structure, Resilience, and Resistance in Coral Holobionts
2021 – 2022 Joann Pfeiffer, M.A. Anthropology (2nd Reader), UW Milwaukee
Thesis: Stress and Parity Among Female Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) at Two Sites in South Africa
2016 – 2021 Andrea Blackburn, Ph.D. Anthropology (Chair), Boston University
Dissertation: Orangutan Seed Dispersal Effectiveness and Spatial Distribution Patterns
2015 – 2021 Amy Scott, Ph.D. Anthropology (2nd Reader), Boston University
Dissertation: Sexual Selection and Sexual Conflict in the Reproductive Strategies of Bornean Orangutans
2015 – 2019 Laura Heath-Stout, Ph.D. Archaeology (3rd Reader), Boston University
Dissertation: Diversity, Identity, and Oppression in the Production of Archaeological Knowledge
2015 – 2019 Andrea Di Giorgio, Ph.D. Anthropology (2nd Reader), Boston University
Dissertation: Nutrient Drivers and Movement Ecology of Wild Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) Foraging Choices
2015 – 2019 Jacob Negrey, Ph.D. Anthropology (3rd Reader), Boston University
Dissertation: The Hormonal and Immunological Correlates of Social Dominance in Wild Male Chimpanzees
2015 – 2018 Caitlin O’Connell, Ph.D. Anthropology (2nd Reader), Boston University
Dissertation: The Costs and Benefits of Sociality Explored in Wild Bornean Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii)
2015 – 2018 Alexander Claxton, Ph.D., Anthropology (Chair), Boston University
Dissertation: A Re-Assessment of Femoral Neck Cortical Thickness
Honors and Awards (Primary Advisees)
2022 Best Poster Presentation, Runner Up, NEEP 2022, Christian Gagnon
2022 Honorable Mention, NSF GRFP, Benjamin Recchia
2021 Best Podium Presentation, NEEP 2021, Melissa Zarate
2021 Denton Award for Outstanding Masters Thesis (Biology). Laura Angley
2020 Denton Award for Outstanding Masters Thesis (Biology). Melissa Zarate
UNDERGRADUATE
Undergraduate Research Assistants (8 current; 49 total; 7 in the field)
2023 – 2024 Research Assistants (SMAGL): *Reese Hotten-Somers, *Joseph Luis, *Sofia Weaver
2022 – 2023 Research Assistants (SMAGL): Marta Hammers, *Reese Hotten-Somers, *Joseph Luis, Roshinie Persaud, Will Pudlo, *Sofia Weaver
Field Assistants (Peru): *Sofia Weaver
2021 – 2022 Research Assistants (SMAGL): Mansa Asiedu, Tyler Crawford, Alexandra Gilbert, Gianna Grob, Marta Hammers, Sophia Long, Roshinie
Persaud, Will Pudlo, Leightta Sherrill, Stephanie Williams, Amanda Wu
2020 – 2021 Research Assistants (SMAGL): Mansa Asiedu, Ishrat Chowdhury, Tyler Crawford, Marta Hammers, Jane Hilsenrath, Christina Lamagna, Alexia
Laucea, Kimberly Louisor, Nick Mikulski, Roshinie Persaud, Elizabeth Shelton, Akshata Shukla, Erica Sun, Amanda Wu
2019 – 2020 Research Assistants (SMAGL): Ishrat Chowdhury, Tennyson Cooper, Becca DeCamp, Gianna Grob, Alexia Laucea, Diem Maxwell, Joseph
O’Sullivan, Patrick Parm, Christian Poole, Katarina Soto
2018 – 2019 Research Assistants (SMAGL): Stacy-Anne Parke, Morgan Farrar, Stephanie Inga, Becca De Camp, Tennyson Cooper, Joseph O’Sullivan,
Xaulanda Thorpe, Gianna Grob, Alyssa Lai
2017 – 2018 Research Assistants (SMAGL): Stacy-Anne Parke, Morgan Farrar, Evan Razdan, Nicole Lukas, Alicia Golyski, Tennyson Cooper
Field Assistants (South Africa): Stacy-Anne Parke, Morgan Farrar, Sasami Langford
2016 – 2017 Research Assistants (SMAGL): Evan Razdan, Marwa Sayed, Nicole Lukas, Corinne Fales, Eleni Constantinou, Stephanie Inga, Nicky Eleuteri,
Stacy-Anne Parke
Field Assistants (South Africa): Sara Jablonski, Evan Razdan
2015 – 2016 Research Assistants (SMAGL): Nicole Lukas, Dillon Travis, Nicky Eleuteri, Vynique Walker, Anthony Ma, Audrey Tjahjadi, Marwa Sayed
Field Assistants (South Africa): Nicole Lukas, Marwa Sayed
Honors and Awards
2020 Outstanding Scholarship Award, Dept of Anthropology, Morgan Farrar
2020 Research Excellence Award, Dept of Anthropology, Becca DeCamp
2019 AABA IDEAS Student Scholars. Stacy-Anne Parke, Xaulanda Thorpe
2019 – pres. Honors in the Major (Anthropology/Biology), Eleni Constantinou (AN), Joseph O’Sullivan (BI), Becca DeCamp (AN), Gabriella Card (AN),
Madeleine Eori (AN), C Vega (AN), Victoria Zdanowicz (AN), Will Pudlo (BI)
2019 Research Excellence Award, Dept of Anthropology, Stacy-Anne Parke
2018 Best Poster, Honorable Mention. NEEP 2018. Stacy-Anne Parke
UROP Funding (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program; 1 current; 11 total)
2023 *Sofia Weaver (Anthropology), Research Grant ($6,000): Remote measurement of morphological traits of the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda)
2021 Tyler Crawford (Electrical Engineering), Research Grant ($2,500): Does variation in TMPRSS2 correspond to differences in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility in US ethnic populations?
2020 Erica Sun (Biology), Research Grant ($2,500): Investigating selection in the PLIN2 (Perilipin-2) gene among wild savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.)
2019 Gianna Grob (Biology), Research Grant ($2,500): Selection in the PPARG gene in relation to cold in South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)
2017 – 2019 Stacy-Anne Parke (Anthropology), Research Grant ($9,000): Timing of reproductive onset among female vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in wild and human-impacted populations
2017 Morgan Farrar (Anthropology), Research Grant ($4,400): Human proximity accelerates pubertal development in wild male vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)
2017 Evan Razdan (Biology), Research Grant ($4,400): Human impacts on food-dependent conflict and body condition in wild South African vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)
2017 Stephanie Inga (Anthropology), Research Grant ($1,500): The evolution of genetic dental modules in great apes: The unique case of gibbons
2016 Marwa Sayed (Anthropology), Research Grant ($4,400): Assessment of a novel method of photogrammetry not requiring lasers in parallel
2016 – 2017 Nicole Lukas (Anthropology), Research Grant ($5,900): Relationship between 2D:4D and adult onset obesity in captive vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus)
2016 Dillon Travis (Biology), Research Grant ($1,500): A three-dimensional assessment of spatial organization and predation risk sensitivity in lowland woolly monkeys (Lagothrix poeppigii)
Honors Research (3 primary; 10 total)
2023 Will Pudlo (Biology, 1st Reader): Assessing Selection in the UCP3 Gene Region in Savanna Monkeys (Chlorocebus)
2022 Victoria Zdanowicz (Anthropology; 2nd Reader): Assessing Orangutan Habitat Quality and the Conservation Value of a Secondary Forest Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Indonesia
2021 C Vega (Anthropology; 2nd Reader): Eulemur Nasal Cavity Variation across Latitude and Forest Type
2020 Gabriella Card (Anthropology; 2nd Reader): An Examination of the Variation in Entheseal Changes in Skeletal Remains Discovered in a 15th Century Cemetery in Mistihalj, Montenegro
2020 Becca DeCamp (Anthropology; 2nd Reader): Investigating the Genetic Evolution of Olfaction in Strepsirrhine Primates
2020 Madeleine Eori (Anthropology; 3rd Reader): Assessing Wild Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) Population Density Using Drone Imagery
2019 Eleni Constantinou (Anthropology; 1st Reader): Gene Flow and Juvenile Paget’s Disease in the Cypriot Population
2019 Joseph O’Sullivan (Biology; 1st Reader): Behavioral Indicators of Infanticide in Wild White-Bellied Spider Monkeys (Ateles belzebuth)
2018 Natalie Robinson (Anthropology; 2nd Reader): Quantifying Free Simple Sugars in Orangutan Foods using Spectrophotometry: A Comparative Analysis of Phenol-Sulfuric acid Methods
2018 Graham Grail (Anthropology; 2nd Reader): The Impact of Testosterone on the Voice in FTM Transgender Males: An Anthropological Examination of Transition Priorities
Research for Credit & Directed Study
2023 *Sofia Weaver (Anthropology): Signs of selection around ADAM19, an obesity-associated gene in savanna monkeys
2022 Gianna Grob (Biology): Selection in the PPARG gene in relation to cold in the southern expansion of savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.)
2022 Mansa Asiedu (Biology): Genomic variation in the NP-Y transcription factor gene among savanna monkeys
2020 – 2022 Stephanie Williams (Biology): Crop raiding and human/wildlife conflict in wild African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Botswana
2021 Nicholas Mikulski (Biology): Social network analysis among rehabilitant savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus rufoviridis) before and after release in Malawi
2021 Elizabeth Shelton (Biology): Genetic variation around the FTO gene in savanna monkeys
2020 Erica Sun (Biology): Investigating selection in the PLIN2 (Perilipin-2) gene among wild savanna monkeys (Chlorocebus spp.)
2017 – 2019 Tennyson Cooper (Anthropology): Variation in TRPM8, a cold sensory receptor, across latitudinal varation in vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) populations
2018 Becca DeCamp (Anthropology): Module-based coding labs for human population genomics
2015 – 2016 Nicky Eleuteri (Kilachand): Conversion of dental age classes from chronology in captive vervets (Chlorocebus spp.) to wild samples
Boston Public Schools Community Scholars Mentees (1 current; 3 total)
2022 – pres. *Lucas Lai
2021 – 2022 Steven Phung
2021 Danny Xu
Boston Public Schools Career & Technical Education Interns
2023 – pres. *Gina Gawargi
2023 – pres. *Kevin Carbonell-Gautier
Academic Advising (Anthropology Majors; 11 current; 28 total)
*Merilyn Amponsah-Asamoah, Eleni Constantinou, Becca DeCamp, Min Dong, Corinne Fales, *Alex Gilbert, *Marta Hammers, Melissa Hurtado, Stephanie Inga, *Jaeyong Kim, Alexia Lancea, *Angelique Lindberg, Nicole Lukas, Diem Maxwell, Valeria Menendez, Sarah Messina, *Sarah Metcalf, *Maia Minto, Mylene Oyarzabal, *Zoe Packard, *Natalie Paine, *Alex Pissios, Stacy-Anne Parke, Marwa Sayed, Anthony Schimmetti, Xaulanda Thorpe, Ethan Troyer, *Yuxuan Wang
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND FIELDWORK
FIELD EXPERIENCE
2016 – pres. Soetdoring Nature Reserve, Sandveld Nature Reserve, Free State, South Africa (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) (20 mo)
2018 Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, Vwaza National Park, Malawi (Chlorocebus pygerythrus, Chlorocebus hilgerti) (1 mo)
2018 – pres. San Antonio, Region Junín, Peru. (Lagothrix flavicauda) (3 mo)
2016 Various sites in South Africa; Instructor, Summer Field Course in Primate Conservation Genetics (1 mo) (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)
2012, 2013 La Suerte Biological Station, Costa Rica. (Summer Field Course) (2 mo)
2012 Barro Colorado Island, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
(Ateles geoffroyi) (PI: Dr. Christina Campbell)
2011 Medical Research Council (MRC); The Gambia (PI: Nelson Freimer, Trudy Turner) (3 mo) (Chlorocebus sabaeus)
2011 Various sites in St. Kitts and Nevis, Caribbean (PI: Dr. Nelson Freimer, Dr. David Jentsch, Dr. Trudy Turner) (3 mo) (Chlorocebus sabaeus)
2010 Various sites in FS/EC/LP/KZN, South Africa (PI: Dr. Nelson Freimer, Dr. Trudy Turner) (6 mo) (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)
2009 Ometepe Biological Station, Nicaragua (Summer Field Course) (1 mo) (Alouatta palliata, Cebus capucinus, Alouatta geoffroyi)
2008 – 2009 La Esperanza, San Martín and Amazonas, Peru (2 mo) (Lagothrix flavicauda) (with Neotropical Primate Conservation)
2006 – 2009 Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador (26 mo)
(Lagothrix poeppigii, Ateles belzebuth)
2005 Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador (4 mo) (Aotus vociferans, Callicebus discolor, Pithecia aequatorialis) (PI: Dr. Anthony Di Fiore)
2003 – 2004 Reserva Biologica Lomas Barbudal, Guanacaste, Costa Rica (12 mo)
(Cebus capucinus) (PI: Dr. Susan Perry, Dr. Joe Manson)
1998 Estación Biológica Corrientes, Corrientes, Argentina (1 mo)
(Alouatta caraya) (PI: Dr. Govinasamy Agoramoorthy)
LAB EXPERIENCE
2022 – pres. Visiting Researcher: Faculty of Microbiology, North West University at Potchefstroom, South Africa (hosts: Dr. Carlos Bezuidenhout and Prudent Mokgokong).
2018 – pres. Co-PI: Sensory Morphology and Anthropological Genomics Lab (SMAGL), Boston University, Boston, MA, USA (w/ Dr. Eva Garrett)
2011 – pres. Researcher: Vervet Research Colony, Wake Forest University, NC, USA
2011 – 2015 Researcher: Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, UCLA, CA, USA
2006 – 2007 Intern: American Museum of Natural History, NY, USA
2006 – 2007 Intern: GIS Laboratory, Wildlife Conservation Society, NY, USA
2006 Team Leader: NYU Primate Cadaver Processing Lab, NY, USA
2004 – 2007 Intern, Researcher: NYU Molecular Anthropology Lab, NY, USA
2002 – 2003 Lab Assistant, Wisconsin NPRC, Madison, WI, USA
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE ACTIVITIES (*DEIJ-Related Activities)
INTERNAL SERVICE (Boston University)
Department Level
2023 Hiring Committee, BU Anthropology Lab Coordinator
2016, 2022 Co-Organizer, Anthropology Seminar Series
2019, 2022 Director of Undergraduate Studies, Anthropology
Led efforts to convert Tracks to Specializations in the major
Co-created and organized new major: Specialization in Anthropology, Health, and Medicine
*2021 – pres. Member, Biology Anti-Racism Committee
*2021 – pres. Chair, DEI Committee, Anthropology
Helped to developed Department webpage DEI statement
Liaise with other departmental DEI initiatives
2020 – 2022 Member, Curriculum Committee, Anthropology
Helped to revise graduate requirements
Wrote student guide for comprehensive/qualifying exams
2021 Member, Curriculum Committee, Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies
2018, 2022 Graduate Admissions Committee, Anthropology
2016 – 2022 Member, Graduate Committee, Anthropology
2016 Teaching Assessment, Mentor Mustafa, Anthropology
2015 – 2016 Job Search Committee, Anthropology
College of Arts & Sciences Level
2020 – pres. Vice President, Sigma Xi (BU Chapter)
2017, 2019 Interim Member, Academic Programming Committee
2017 – 2018 Co-Organizer, Tertulia: The Junior Faculty Colloquium
University Level
*2020 – pres. Member, LGBTQ+ Faculty & Staff Network
Visibility/OutList/PrideMonth Committees
*2022 Organizer, Emerging Scholars Program: Addressing Race and Racism in
Anthropological Genetics and Genomics. Boston, MA. Feb-May 2022.
2020 – 2022 Member, Trustee Scholarship Committee
*2018 – pres. Faculty Advisor, oSTEM (Out in STEM) Graduate Student Group
*2018 – pres. Faculty Advisor, oSTEM (Out in STEM) Undergrad Student Group
2016 – pres. Member, University Council Research and Scholarly Activities Committee
*2021 – pres. Member, Committee on Sexual Assault and Harassment Prevention
*2022 Member, Center for Teaching and Learning Pedagogy Workshop
*2019 Member, University Task Force on Gender-Based Harassment
2017 – 2020 Member, Charles River Campus IACUC
*2017 Advisory Subcommittee, 5th Annual Academic Advising Symposium
*2016 – 2017 Faculty Advisor, Center for Gender & Sexuality Activism
2016 – 2017 Alternate Member, Charles River Campus IACUC
EXTERNAL SERVICE TO THE DISCIPLINE
Leadership Roles
2023 – pres. President, American Association of Anthropological Genetics
2022 – 2023 Vice President, American Association of Anthropological Genetics
2020 – pres. Executive Board, Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists
*2020 – pres. Co-Founder, National Geographic Society LGBTQIA+ Explorer’s Group
*2013 – pres. Steering Committee, AABA COD LGBTQQIAA+ Interest Group
2015 – 2018 Chair, Media Committee, American Society of Primatologists
2014 – 2015 Co-Chair, Media Committee, American Society of Primatologists
Editorial Board Membership
2019 – 2021 American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Early Career Board
2019 – pres. American Journal of Primatology
Conference Organizer, Moderation, Committee Work
*2023 Co-Organizer, Chair, AAAG/AABA Joint Symposium. AABA Reno, NV.
*2023 Co-Organizer, National Geographic Society Queer & Allies Explorer Meetup. March 13-17, 2023.
2021 Co-Organizer, 7th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary
Primatologists. Boston, MA. November 4-5, 2021.
2021 Chair, Podium Session: Ecology and Life History, NEEP. Boston, MA. November
4-5, 2021.
2020 Co-Organizer, 6th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary
Primatologists. Virtual. November 5-6, 2020.
2020, 2021 Planning Committee, NEEP
2016 – pres. Student Awards Committee, NEEP
*2016 Steering Committee, Presidential Panel on Harassment, AABA
2016 Co-Chair, Podium Session: Approaches to Primate Immunity and Health,
IPS/ASP. Chicago, IL. August 21-29, 2016.
2015 – 2018 Student Awards Committee, AABA
2014 – 2018 Programming Committee, American Society of Primatologists
2014 Chair, Podium Session: Neuroscience/Pharmacology/Genetics, ASP. Decatur,
GA. September 12 – 15, 2014.
2014 Chair, Podium Session: Cross-Disciplinary Research in the Genus Chlorocebus.
AABA. Calgary, AB. April 10 – 14, 2014.
2012 – 2017 Programming Committee, AABA
2013 – 2014 Auction Committee, AABA
2010 Co-Chair, Podium Session: New Perspectives on Juvenile Primates, AAPA.
Albuquerque, NM. April 13 – 18, 2010.
2006 Session Co-Chair, Molecular Primatology Conference, NYU. New York, NY. March 2 – 4, 2006
2005 Student co-organizer, Monkeys Old and New Conference, NYCEP. New York, NY. October 28 – 30, 2005
Workshops (Organized or Moderated)
*2014 Organizer, Science Diversity Outreach Workshop. UC Davis. Davis, CA. October 6, 2014.
2014 Speaker, Genomics in Anthropology Workshop. Florida Atlantic University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. October 6, 2014.
2014 Organizer, AGAR Primate Genomics Workshop. Texas Biomedical Research Center. San Antonio, TX. January 9, 2014.
Invited Panelist
*2020 Queer in Academia, Queer Activist Collective, Boston University.
2019 Workshop on Scholarly Websites, Boston Postdoctoral Symposium on Careers and Collaboration in Science. Erin Kane, Stephanie Poindexter, Co-Organizers. Cambridge, MA.
*2019 Challenges in Academia, Department of Biology Retreat, Boston University. Boston, MA.
*2019 Navigating the Intercultural Landscape of Gender-Based Harassment and Assault in Fieldwork, 88th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Kane ER, Cramer JD, Co-Organizers. Cleveland, OH.
*2019 Adulting as LGBTQ+, Queer Activist Collective, Boston University.
2018 Epigenetics Panel, Boston University Data Science Day.
2017 Crafting Your Online Scholarly Persona, Boston University Research.
2016 Talking Primates: Developing Tactics to Better Communicate Research in Primatology. IPS/ASP 2016, Chicago, IL
2014 Being a Scientist Online: Possibilities, Pragmatics & Pitfalls. 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists. Amanda M. Dettmer, Organizer. Decatur, GA.
PEER REVIEW
Grant Review
National Science Foundation (Biological Anthropology)
Conservation Leadership Program
The Leakey Foundation
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France)
Journal Article Review
American Anthropologist
American Journal of Biological Anthropology
American Journal of Human Biology
American Journal of Primatology
Behavioral Ecology
BMC Zoology
Ethology
International Journal of Primatology
Metabolic Brain Disease
PLOS One
Primates
Scientific Reports
Yearbook of Biological Anthropology
Panel Review
Holohil Grant Program – Small Mammals and Primates Panel
National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Evolution & Systematics
Anthropology & Archaeology
National Science Foundation (Biological Anthropology)
WORKSHOP PARTICIPATION
*2023 Invited Participant, The Socio-Politics of Knowledge Production in Archaeology and Anthropology. Jess Beck, Laura Heath-Stout, Co-Organizers. Wenner-Gren Foundation. Virtual.
2019 Invited Participant, Workshop on Data Sharing in Biological Anthropology. Trudy Turner, Connie Mulligan, Co-Organizers. National Science Foundation. Milwaukee, WI.
*2019 Invited Participant, Methodological Dilemmas Roundtable, WGS Queer and Feminist Research Methods Workshop. Catie Connell, Organizer. Boston University. Boston, MA.
2016 Volunteer, R Statistics Tutorial Workshop, 85th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Atlanta, GA.
2013 Invited Participant, Ethoinformatics Workshop. Washington University in St. Louis. National Science Foundation. St. Louis, MO.
2010 Participant, Advanced Science Writing Workshop, with Stephen Holden of the New York Times. New York, NY.
2009 Participant, Science Writing Workshop, with Stephen Holden of the New York Times. New York, NY.
2007 Participant, Bones and Behavior Workshop. New York University. National Science Foundation. New York, NY.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
2021 – 2022 Center for Teaching and Learning Hub Pedagogy Workshop, Boston University
Year-long workshop series to facilitate the development of innovative general education courses.
2018 – 2019 Provost Mentor Fellows Program, Boston University
Year-long workshop series designed to promote and highlight faculty excellence in mentoring.
2016 Faculty Terrier Days Teaching Exchange, Boston University
Week-long teaching exchange in which faculty observe and comment on each other’s classroom and pedagogical practices.
2006 Mentor Training Seminar: Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching.
Day-long workshop designed to develop ethical mentoring skills.
OUTREACH & SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Social Media
Twitter: @fuzzyatelin (5,900+ followers)
Tumblr: evopropinquitous
Featured on: Gizmodo (2012), National Geographic (2013)
Outreach-Related Hashtags: #fieldworkfail, #bluescrotumsummer, #BUvervets16, #BUvervets17, #BUvervets18
Interviews
2021 Lunch Break Science, The Leakey Foundation. https://leakeyfoundation.org/category/lunch-break-science/
2021 No Matter Your Relationship Status, Here Are Five Inspiring Stories on Practicing Self-Care This Valentine’s Day, by Jessica Colarossi. BU The Brink.
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/inspiring-stories-about-self-care-on-valentines-day/
2020 Scientists push against barriers to diversity in the field sciences, by John Pickrell. Science. [DOI: 10.1126/science.caredit.abb6887]
2020 Same-sex sexual behavior in primates and other animals, Living on Earth (Pride Month segment). National Public Radio.
2020 Minority Connection Initiative Radio Show, WBUR.
2019 On Being a Queer Primatologist, by Ambre Nicolson. University of Cape Town News.
https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2019-07-23-on-being-a-queer-primatologist
2017 reddit AMA (in r/lgbt & r/anthropology): I’m Christopher Schmitt, and as a biological anthropologist I’ve spent 65+ months studying monkeys in the Amazon and across Africa. I'm also gay gay gay. Ask me anything! (94% upvoted)
https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/6fgi0v/im_christopher_schmitt_and_as_a_biological/
2017 Being queer in the jungle: The unique challenges of LGBTQ scientists working in the field, by Ben Ragen. BMC Blog.
https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcblog/2017/06/28/being-queer-in-the-jungle-the-unique-challenges-of-lgbtq-scientists-working-in-the-field/
2017 Is Science Too Straight?, by Barbara Moran. BU Research:
http://www.bu.edu/research/articles/lgbt-issues-stem-diversity/
2016 Why Do Monkeys Get Fat?, by Barbara Moran. BU Today.
https://www.bu.edu/today/2016/christopher-schmitt-primate-evolution/
K-12 Presentations
2023 The Schmitt Lab Tour: Monkeys and Genomics. BU Academy (Grades 9-12).
2020 What Can (and Can’t) Biology Tell Us about Who We Are? Skype a Scientist. Women in STEM / ATHENA. 15 global female biology students (Grades 9-12).
2019 What Can (and Can’t) Biology Tell Us about Who We Are? Skype a Scientist. Horizon Academy (Grade 7), Ocala, FL
2019 Primatology as Anthropology. Shorewood High School (Grades 9-12), Milwaukee, WI.
2013 Primate Behavior and Genomics. CityLab at UCLA (Grades 9-12). Los Angeles, CA.
2010 Vervet Monkey Genetics and Disease. Camp Anerley (Grades 6-8), KZN, South Africa.
2010 Careers in Science: Field Research in Primatology. Alliance School (Grades 6-12), Milwaukee, WI.
2008 Careers in Science: Field Research in Primatology. Rufus King High School (Grades 9-12), Milwaukee, WI.
2008 Careers in Science: Field Research in Primatology. Alliance School (Grades 6-12), Milwaukee, WI.
2006 Careers in Science: Field Research in Primatology. Golda Meir Elementary School (Grades 3-5), Milwaukee, WI.
Other Public-Facing Media, Features, or Presentations
2023 Lightning Talk, Discovering the Evolutionary Origins of Obesity. National Geographic Society Queer and Allies Explorer Meetup, Washington, DC.
2021 POV: Who is Forgotten in Our Discussion of Abortion?, by McCarger O, Kelly M, DeBiasse M, Elias MJ, Warkentin K, Austin P, Connell C, Miller S,
Desilets S, Sreedhar S, Schmitt CA, McSweeney BG. BU Today.
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/pov-nonbinary-people-and-trans-men-need-abortion-care-too/
2021 Feature, Thank You, Scientists! Boston Globe Media.
http://sponsored.bostonglobe.com/pmi/christopher-schmitt-primatology/
2019 New population (and new hope) for Critically Endangered Peruvian Primate, by Schmitt CA. Oryx Blog, https://www.oryxthejournal.org/blog/new-population-and-new-hope-for-critically-endangered-peruvian-primate/
2014 Guest Scientist, podcast, Probably Science (Episode 120)
http://probablyscience.libsyn.com/episode-120-dr-christopher-schmitt
2013 – 2014 Guest Scientist, Fail Lab web series, Zoochosis/Discovery Channel.
Humor (Episode 4):
http://testtube.com/faillab/zoochosis-episode-four-humor
Sexual Selection (Episode 2):
http://testtube.com/faillab/zoochosis-episode-two-sexual-selection
2013 I’ve Got Your Links Right Here (26 January 2013), by Ed Yong. Praise for my Tumblr blog, Things I Learned as a Field Biologist. [Not Exactly Rocket
Science] National Geographic.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/ive-got-your-missing-links-right-here-26th-january-2013
2011 – 2015 Science & Entertainment Exchange. Provided scientific consultations for media projects at the following production companies:
Walt Disney Animation
Sony PlayStation
Bad Robot Productions
2012 Our new favorite Tumblr is scientific, graphic and hilariously tragic. It also features fluffy monkey scrota, by Robbie Gonzalez. Feature on my
Tumblr blog, Things I Learned as a Field Biologist. [i09] Gizmodo.
https://gizmodo.com/our-new-favorite-tumblr-is-scientific-graphic-and-hila-5955106
2011 It Gets Better Project: “From Faggot to Field Biologist” (YouTube video and transcribed book chapter.)
2010 – 2015 Tumblr blog, “Things I Learned as a Field Biologist”,
http://evopropinquitous.tumblr.com
2006 Molecular Genetics and Forensic Science: A Crash Course. The Innocence Project. New York, NY.
LANGUAGES
Spanish Conversant speaking, reading, writing
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
2017 – pres. American Anthropological Association
2016 – pres. American Association for the Advancement of Science
2005 – pres. American Association of Biological Anthropologists
2010 – pres. American Association of Anthropological Genetics
2014 – pres. American Society of Primatologists
2019 – pres. Asociación Peruana de Primatología
2010 – pres. International Primatological Society
2020 – pres. National Geographic Society Queer & Allies Explorer Hub
2012 – pres. National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals
2018 – pres. Out in STEM (oSTEM)
2010 – pres. Primate Ecology and Genetics Group (South African Primatology Association
2018 – pres. Sigma Xi