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Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
TEACHING
Courses: Functional Anatomy I & II (Master of Science PA Medicine Program), Anatomy and Physiology I & II (Undergraduate Biology Program), Biology of the Cell (Undergraduate Biology Program), Plant Systematics (Undergraduate Biology Program)
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2019
B.A. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 2011
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Hominin Evolution; Biomechanics and Locomotor Adaptations; Behavioral Reconstruction; Postcranial Functional Morphology; Statistical Analyses of Biological Shape
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Zelazny, K. G., Sylvester, A. D., & Ruff, C. B. (2021). Bilateral asymmetry and developmental plasticity of the humerus in modern humans. American journal of physical anthropology.
Zelazny, K. G. (2019). Morphological variation in the distal humerus of extant hominids and fossil hominins (Doctoral dissertation, Johns Hopkins University).
Zelazny, K. G., Sylvester, A. D., & Ruff, C. B. (2019). Choice of Size Parameter Alters Interpretation of Fossil Hominin Distal Humeral Morphology. The FASEB Journal, 33(S1), 612-9.
Zelazny, K. G., Sylvester, A. D., & Ruff, C. B. (2018). Differences between Human and Great Ape Distal Humeral Articular Axes. The FASEB Journal, 32, 364-5.
Zelazny, K. G., & Ruff, C. B. (2017). Bilateral Asymmetry in Cross-Sectional Properties Indicates Periarticular Plasticity in the Distal Humerus of Modern Humans. In American journal of physical anthropology, 162(S64), 421.
ABOUT MY WORK:
My research is driven by a few big picture questions:
Why does the human skeleton look the way it does?
How do the shapes of bones affect how the body moves? And how does that movement in turn affect the strength and shape of bone?
What can we tell about the way extinct hominins and other primates behaved based on their bones?
My lab answers these questions primarily through statistical analyses of shape. Right now, I'm particularly interested in the biomechanics of climbing and other upper limb behaviors. In my lab, we work with 3D digital models of surfaces as well as CT data to look at variation in modern humans, primates, and fossils to investigate questions of functional behavior. Work in my lab teaches you image processing and computer programming techniques, which you will use to answer biology-based questions. It will also teach you how to produce your own three dimensional data and use it to create real-world models using 3D printing.
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