Lindsay Eaves-Johnson

Background:

I am studying the geometry, functional morphology and bio-energetics of the thorax in later Homo. I am particularly interested in altitudinal, climatic and sex-related adaptations. I would love to study it with regards to the transition to bipedalism, but the paucity of ribs deters me. My thesis topic is still organic at this stage, since I don't have funding yet, but I am using CT scans of living humans and applying the relationships of their lung to thorax quotient with their spirometric measures. This is in turn used to regress these same values on fossil thoraces. The primary focus of my research is on the long-term evolutionary effects of climate on the respiratory anatomy and physiology of recent and ancient human populations. I am currently assessing ecogeographic variation in human thoracic morphology and geometry, which will provide a baseline for future work in this area. In addition to my work on respiratory physiology, I am also interested in broader issues such as Neandertal energetics, modern human variation, forensic anthropology, skeletal biology andgross human anatomy.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences