Understanding Orthopaedics Through Our Ancestors
Owen Lovejoy, PhD
Distinguished Professor
Director of Matthew Ferrini Institute for Human Evolutionary Research
Kent State University
Member, United States National Academy of Sciences
C. Owen Lovejoy is Distinguished Professor of Human Evolutionary Studies in the department of anthropology and the division of biomedical studies of Kent State University. He received his Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Massachusetts and did postdoctoral study in biomechanics at Case Western Reserve University. He has published widely on the history of upright walking in human ancestors. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2007 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014. He is immediate past chair of Section 51 (anthropology) of the NAS and serves on the PNAS editorial board. He also holds appointments at the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Dr. Lovejoy is most well-known for his work on reconstructing Lucy (Australopithecus)—a near-complete fossil of a human ancestor that walked upright more than three million years ago. His research has covered a broad spectrum of human biological areas from eukaryotic mutations to ectocranial suture closures. Much of Lovejoy's research focuses on bipedal locomotion and its evolution. Many of his publications involve the thorough study of specific features of the hominid skeletal system or that of its ancestors.
Location and Address
LHAS Auditorium, 7th floor Main Level
Montefiore University Hospital