I am interested in analyzing the form and function of hominin body plans, with a focus on the locomotor repertoire of Australopithecus. My interests also include the life history patterns of our early ancestors, with a focus on skeletal ontogeny.

​My dissertation research utilizes a 3-dimensional geometric morphometrics and biomechanical modeling approach to analyzing the form, function, and ontogeny of the knee joint in australopiths. Of particular importance to my project is the 3.3-million-year-old fossil skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis juvenile, DIK-1-1 (Selam), from Dikika, Ethiopia. My goal in utilizing this fossil, in conjunction with fossils from other australopith individuals and modern human and great ape comparative collections, is to help illuminate the ongoing debate surrounding the locomotor capabilities and life history patterns of early hominins.