Brenda C. Frazier PhD Candidate, Anthropology Off-campus office: 105 Seaton St. Toronto, Ontario M5A 2T2   Canada Telephone:  416-364-9798 E-mail:    bcf134(at)psu.edu CV

SUMMER FIELDWORK:

This July and August I joined my dear friend Holly Dunsworth and colleagues at their field site on Rusinga Island, Kenya. The Miocene fauna from Rusinga are wonderful! I had loads of fun. We enjoyed the added benefit of being Americans in the Obama, Sr. homeland--the Kenyans love our 44th President!

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS:

At the 2009 meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Chicago, I presented part of my dissertation work on craniofacial allometry in the proboscis and simakobu monkeys. I got some very helpful feedback from colleagues that will definitely improve my thesis.

At Penn State's annual Graduate Research Exhibition I presented a poster of this work designed for a general audience.

My doctoral dissertation is a hybrid project joining two seemingly disparate topics:
     1) Craniofacial form in modern human microcephalics, and
     2) Changes in craniofacial morphology associated with species-level dwarfing in primates.
I hope that this research will meaningfully contribute to the growing body of work in anthropology informing our (ever-evolving) interpretation of the Flores hominin remains. Beyond the specific applicability to the Flores finds, I hope to elucidate something about the developmental mechanisms involved in a "pathology" on one hand, and a directional evolutionary trend on the other.

In January, I had a fun and productive visit to the Biology department at Loyola University New Orleans. This included an appearance on Science Matters, the new University internet radio program created and hosted by Professor Craig Hood (Department Chair in Biology). Click here to listen to my interview. (Warning: it's kind of long!)

Click here to check out the Richtsmeier Lab.

     

From left: Me, Joan Richtsmeier, Yann Heuzé, Neus Martínez-Abadías, John Starbuck, Chris Percival, Satama Sirivunnabood, Lisa Howell

EDUCATION:

MA Biological Anthropology, Penn State, 2005

BA French, Wellesley College, 1999

AWARDS:

Penn State Graduate Exhibition 2009, Second Place in Health & Life Sciences

NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, 2008

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2005-2008

Research & Graduate Studies Office (RGSO) Dissertation Support Grant, Penn State, 2008

Hill Foundation Dissertation Support Grant, Penn State, 2008

University Fellowship, Penn State, 2003-2004

RECENT PUBLICATIONS:

2008   Frazier BC, Mooney MP, Losken HW, Barbano T, Moursi A, Siegel MI, Richtsmeier JT.   Comparison of craniofacial phenotype in craniosynostotic rabbits treated with anti-Tgf-ß2 at suturectomy site. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. 45(6):571-582.   PDF

2007   von Cramon-Taubadel N, Frazier BC, Mirazón Lahr M. The Problem of Assessing Landmark Error in Geometric Morphometrics: Methods and Modifications. Amer J Phys Anthropol 134(1):24-35.    PDF

PRESENTATIONS & INVITED TALKS:

2009    Frazier BC, Richtsmeier JT.   Craniofacial shape and allometry in sister taxa of disparate body sizes: Nasalis larvatus and Simias concolor. Presented at the 78th annual meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Chicago, IL. Amer J Phys Anthropol Suppl 48:129.    Abstract

2009   Frazier BC.   The Science of Anthropology. Guest lecture for undergraduate Evolution class at Loyola University New Orleans, 14 January.

2008    Frazier BC, Willmore KE, Richtsmeier JT.   Characterizing neurocranial shape in microcephalic children. Presented at the 77th annual meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Columbus, OH. Amer J Phys Anthropol Suppl 46:99.    Abstract     Presentation Slides

2007   Richtsmeier JT, Weiss KM, Buchanan A, Walker A, Jablonski NG, Frazier BC, Willmore KE, Lawson HA, Yan P, Hill CA, Roseman CC, Cheverud JM, Falk D, Hildebolt CF, Rogers J.   Developmental genetic basis of primate craniofacial variation and human origins. Presented at the 76th annual meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Philadelphia, PA. Amer J Phys Anthropol Suppl 44:198.    Poster

2007   von Cramon-Taubadel N, Frazier BC, Mirazón Lahr M.   The Problem of Assessing Landmark Error in Geometric Morphometrics. Presented at the 76th annual meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Philadelphia, PA. Amer J Phys Anthropol Suppl 44:240-241.    Poster

2005   Frazier BC, Aldridge K, Richtsmeier JT.   Sexual dimorphism and morphological integration in baboons. Presented at the 74th annual meetings of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Milwaukee, WI. Amer J Phys Anthropol Suppl 40:103.    Poster   Abstract   References

2005   Frazier BC.   Beyond the "Science News" page: How have recent finds changed our understanding of human evolution? Presented to the Inference Group at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK, 12 July.

2004   Frazier BC, Mooney MP, Losken HW, Barbano T, Moursi A, Martin T, Siegel MI, Yan P, Richtsmeier JT.   Growth comparison via linear distance analysis of craniosynostotic rabbits treated with anti-TGF-ß2 antibody at suturectomy site. Presented at the 61st annual meeting of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, Chicago, IL. Slides