The program in biological anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers graduate training that integrates diverse research areas toward the common goal of improving 
our understanding of human and nonhuman primate anatomy, adaptation, and evolution. The biological anthropology program includes ongoing research on immune function and response; reproductive ecology and physiology; primate social behavior; primate behavioral ecology, reproductive biology and human health; primate and human evolution; forensic anthropology; demography; quantitative genetics; ancient DNA; locomotor biomechanics in humans and nonhuman primates; functional anatomy; and paleoanthropology.
The biological
anthropologists in the Department of Anthropology are actively involved in field research in Poland, the Philippines, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Uganda, and Primate Research Centers in San Antonio, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia. Additional research is conducted on campus at our labs in Davenport Hall and the Medical Sciences Building, including the Malhi Molecular Anthropology Lab, the Laboratory for Evolutionary Endocrinology, the Evolutionary Immunology and Genomics Laboratory, the Evolutionary Biomechanics Laboratory, and the Environmental Isotope Paleobiogeochemistry lab.
The biological anthropologists are involved in many cross-disciplinary research collaborations across the UIUC campus. Several of our faculty are affiliated with other units, including the 
Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (PEEB), the Host-Microbe Systems Group in the Institute for Genomic Biology, the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the Center for African Studies, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, the College of Medicine, and the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine. Most have research collaborations with other campus departments including Mechanical Engineering, Kinesiology, Geology, Computer Science, and the College of Education. We offer a wide range of graduate courses in our areas of specialty and also teach human gross anatomy in the College of Medicine. Our goal is to create an exciting and demanding academic environment that challenges doctoral students and prepares them to conduct outstanding research.
Graduate Alumni/ae
| Name | Year | Position(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Mallot | 2016 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University |
| John Lindo | 2015 | Provost's Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Chicago |
| Rodolfo Martinez Mota | 2015 | Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Utah |
| Nicoletta Righini | 2014 | Researcher, Institute of Ecology, Veracruz |
| Natalie Uhl | 2014 | Graduate Employees' Organization at UIUC |
| Mark Grabowski | 2012 | Lecturer, Dartmouth |
| Petra Jelinek | 2012 | Lecturer, University of Illinois |
| Krista Milich | 2012 | Assistant Professor, Washington University, St. Louis, MO |
| Caie Yan | 2012 | Visiting Lecturer, San Jose Sate University and San Francisco State University |
| Milena Shattuck | 2011 | Visiting Scholar, New York University |
| Scott Williams | 2011 | Assistant Professor, New York University |
| Melissa Raguet-Schofield | 2010 | Tutor, Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis |
| Bernardo Urbani | 2009 | Researcher at the Centro de Antropologia, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, in Venezuela |
| Greg Blomquist | 2007 | Assistant Professor, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO |
| Kristin Hedman | 2007 | University of Illinois, Illinois Transportation Archaeology Research Program |
| Martin Kowalewski | 2006 | Estacion Biologica de Corrientes (EBCo) - MACN, (Biological Field Station of Corrientes, Argentina), Scientific Coordinator |
| Barth Wright | 2004 | Post-Doctoral Researcher, George Washington University, Washington DC |
| Robin Bernstein | 2004 | Assistant Professor, George Washington University, Washington DC |
| Jennifer Rehg | 2003 | Assistant Professor, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville |
| James Ostlund | 2002 | |
| Jill Pruetz | 1999 | Associate Professor, Iowa State University, Ames |
| Julio Bicca-Marques | 1999 | President of the Brazilian Primatological Society and Associate Professor Faculdade de Biociencias/PUCRS, Porto Alegre, Brazil |
| Joanna Lambert | 1997 | Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin at Madison |
| Jolee West | 1995 | Director of Academic Computing and Digital Library Projects Information Technology Services, Wesleyan University |
| Deborah Bakken | 1994 | Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago |
| Dale Hutchinson | 1991 | Professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
| Kevin Kelly | 1988 | Adjunct Associate Professor, Dept of Anthropology, University of Iowa |
| Karen O'Neil | 1986 | Science Department Chair, Maryvale Preparatory School, Brooklandville, Maryland |
| Diane Mann | 1981 | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research Laboratory, Champaign (Deceased 2007) |
| Mark Teaford | 1981 | Professor, The Johns Hopkins University |
| Robert Rondinelli | 1977 | Medical Director, Younker Rehabilitation Services, Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Des Moines |
| John McCullough | 1972 | Professor of Anthropology, University of Utah |
| Russell Reid | 1971 | Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of Louisville |
| Milford Wolpoff | 1969 | Professor, University of Michigan |