I am a biological anthropologist with an interest in studying the evolution and genetics of human hair and skin. In addition to my academic work, I am very active as a science communicator. I host a show on PBS Terra called Why Am I Like This? and you can find me on Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter, or possibly somewhere near you at my next speaking event.

My work focuses on developing rigorous methods to understand the landscape of biological variation and a critical lens to investigate how that overlaps with various social concepts. I aim to provide people with the knowledge and tools to understand how we can study human variation and how it matters in everything from cosmetics, to technology and medicine.

I just started as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and am also affiliated with the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. More to come soon, so watch the lab website for more announcements!