Lauren Schroeder
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
University of Toronto
Canada
Biography
Hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, Lauren Schroeder is a palaeoanthropologist who joined UTM in 2017 after completing a postdoctoral appointment in evolutionary morphology at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Schroeder’s research is broadly focused on understanding the evolution of cranial and mandibular diversity within hominins. This research agenda combines a variety of quantitative methods, including statistical analyses of 3D forms, with the analytical approaches of quantitative genetics to address questions about the evolutionary processes underlying morphological variation, more specifically to what extent adaptive versus non-adaptive processes contributed to our evolution. Dr. Schroeder has previously been involved in both the Malapa (Australopithecus sediba) and Rising Star (Homo naledi) projects as part of the research team studying the recent fossil hominin discoveries from these sites. Current research includes collaborative projects focused on the evolution, integration and variability of the primate skeleton (University at Buffalo), and identifying the skeletal signatures of hybridization in mammalian taxa for detecting instances of gene flow in the fossil record (University of Cape Town).
Research Interest
Biological Anthropology; palaeoanthropology; hominin variability; evolutionary theory; quantitative genetics
