My primary research interests lie in functional morphology and morphological integration of the primate postcranial skeleton, with a special interest in the role of homology and homoplasy in its evolution. Currently, I am working on a research project involving the numerical composition and evolutionary history of the vertebral column in hominoid primates and other mammals, including the recently discovered partial skeletons of Australopithecus sediba from the Malapa site in South Africa. By analyzing fossil specimens and their contemporary counterparts, I am testing hypotheses underlying the interpretation of another fossil specimen, Ardipithecus ramidus, with implications for human evolution and the tempo and mode of hominoid evolution in general. 

A second line of my research involves an ongoing life history project concerned with the evolution of longevity in primates and other mammals. In the first iteration of the project, published last year (with Milena Shattuck) and titled, "Arboreality has allowed for the evolution of increased longevity in mammals," we showed that arboreal mammals tend to demonstrate greater longevities, or longer maximal lifespans, than their terrestrial counterparts. We have since compiled corresponding brain size data, and intend to test hypotheses concerning the co-evolution of longevity and encephalization, with implications for primate origins and human evolution.