News & Events

Yuti Gao and Steve Leigh Publish Article in AJBA

Renee Kuban — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 19:01:22 +0000

Yuti Gao and Steve Leigh Publish Article in AJBA Renee Kuban Mon, 12/15/2025 - 12:01

Yuti Gao (Biological Anthropology, PhD Candidate) and Professor Steve Leigh have published an article titled “Advancing Scientific Collection-Based Research With the Global Registry of Scientific Collections (GRSciColl)” in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology. The article publicizes and evaluates a new web resource designed to facilitate the use of natural history museum collections.

Abstract

Natural history museums provide unique and extremely valuable research resources. However, relatively few museums have externally discoverable records. Biological anthropologists frequently rely on materials in these collections—including skeletal remains, fossil hominins, and nonhuman primate materials—to study human evolution, functional anatomy, and genetic variation. Unfortunately, traditional means of sourcing museum resources, such as curator consultations, published references, or informal research networks, may be inefficient, biased toward certain institutions, and out of date. The Global Registry of Scientific Collections (GRSciColl), part of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), addresses these challenges by centralizing metadata on scientific collections, enabling researchers to locate research materials, reduce biases, and broaden sampling diversity. GRSciColl supports interdisciplinary collaborations, digital resource sharing, and educational applications, such as data literacy training. It also standardizes institutional references, improves provenance tracking, and data interoperability. By increasing access to collections—including to researchers lacking financial resources—GRSciColl bridges the gap between physical museum holdings and

Read the article American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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Fernando Villeanea's Research Featured in Leakey Foundation Article

Renee Kuban — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 19:31:02 +0000

Fernando Villeanea's Research Featured in Leakey Foundation Article Renee Kuban Wed, 12/10/2025 - 12:31

Professor Fernando Villanea's Research Featured in Leakey Foundation Article: "The Great Mucus Mystery"

New research led by CU Boulder’s Professor Fernando Villanea traces how a key gene for mucus production was passed from Denisovans to Neanderthals and finally to modern humans. This ancient genetic legacy, now common in Indigenous American populations, likely provided a crucial survival advantage.

Read the article:Leakey Foundation

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William Taylor's Moose Research Featured on CPR

Renee Kuban — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 18:25:23 +0000

William Taylor's Moose Research Featured on CPR Renee Kuban Wed, 12/10/2025 - 11:25

Professor William Taylor's Moose population research featured on Colorado Public Radio.

Decades of reintroduction efforts have brought moose back from local extinction to a thriving population of ~3,500 across the state.

But in places like Rocky Mountain National Park, their booming numbers are contributing to a “willow graveyard,” harming wetlands and other species.

Read the article CPR News

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Carole McGranahan Interviewed on Lions Roar

Renee Kuban — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 18:55:34 +0000

Carole McGranahan Interviewed on Lions Roar Renee Kuban Tue, 12/09/2025 - 11:55

Professor Carole McGranahan was recently interviewed by Lion's Roar to discuss Tibetan reincarnation practices and the critical future succession of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

For over seventy years, the Dalai Lama has been a spiritual leader for Tibetans and a global moral compass. As celebrations for his 90th birthday begin, Professor McGranahan provides essential insight into the history, politics, and faith surrounding what comes next.

🔗 Dive into the full interview here: Lions Roar

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Cristian Figueroa Successfully Defends is MA Paper

Renee Kuban — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 19:21:33 +0000

Cristian Figueroa Successfully Defends is MA Paper Renee Kuban Mon, 12/08/2025 - 12:21

Cristian Figueroa (Archaeology, PhD in Progress) successfully defended his M.A. Paper titled "Interpreting Comca'ac Ceramic Figurines as Materialized Non-Binary Identities." Special Thanks to his committee: Professors Gerardo Gutiérrez (chair), Kira Hall, and Eric Jones.

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Cristian Figueroa Presented His Research at the 2025-2026 AGSA Brown Bag Series

Renee Kuban — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 19:15:41 +0000

Cristian Figueroa Presented His Research at the 2025-2026 AGSA Brown Bag Series Renee Kuban Mon, 12/08/2025 - 12:15

Cristian Figueroa (Archaeology, PhD in Progress) presented his research,""Non-binary Ceramic Figurines from Pre-colonial Sonora, México," at the 2025-2026 AGSA Brown Bag Series on December 2nd.

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Michael Orellana Passes His PhD Qualifying Exams

Renee Kuban — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 19:01:50 +0000

Michael Orellana Passes His PhD Qualifying Exams Renee Kuban Mon, 12/08/2025 - 12:01

Michael Orellana (Biological Anthropology, PhD in progress) has successfully passed his PhD qualifying exams.

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Nick Hartman Passes His PhD Qualifying Exams

Renee Kuban — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 18:58:08 +0000

Nick Hartman Passes His PhD Qualifying Exams Renee Kuban Mon, 12/08/2025 - 11:58

Nick Hartman (Biological Anthropology, PhD in progress) has successfully passed his PhD qualifying exams.

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Katie Donlan's Co-authored Article Published on AES Online

Renee Kuban — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 17:30:03 +0000

Katie Donlan's Co-authored Article Published on AES Online Renee Kuban Mon, 12/08/2025 - 10:30

Katie Donlan's (Cultural Anthropology, PhD Candidate) co-authored article, "25th Anniversary Retrospective: American Ethnologist in the Year 2000," published on AES Online. The piece is a roundup of notable articles from AE 2000 by Emma Kahn, Katie Donlan, and Nadine Vanniasinkam. Edited by Kate Goldfarb.

As an accompaniment to the recently published 25th Anniversary interview between Samiri Hernández Hiraldo and Jorge Duany, celebrating Duany’s article “Nation on the Move: The Construction of Cultural Identities in Puerto Rico and the Diaspora,” here we re-surface some additional notable works from American Ethnologist: Volume 27, published in 2000. We place some key themes and questions of these works in conversation with a number of contemporary concerns, including those explored in American Ethnologist: Volume 52, published in 2025. This 25-year retrospective allows us to trace critical points of convergence and divergence over a quarter century of work in AE.

Read the article AES Online

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End of Year Reprieve 2025

Renee Kuban — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 17:04:27 +0000

End of Year Reprieve 2025 Renee Kuban Mon, 12/08/2025 - 10:04

Cookies were iced, sweaters were judged, and festive fun was had by all! 🍪🎄 A huge thank you to everyone who made our End-of-Year Student Reprieve so memorable.

Wishing our amazing community joyful holidays and a sparkling New Year!

Here's to making 2026 our best chapter yet!

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