Meredith Bastian, Ph.D. 2008

Recruiting Editor, PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) – Washington, DC

2008 Ph.D., Biological Anthropology & Anatomy (now Evolutionary Anthropology); minor in Biology

How has being an Evolutionary Anthropology graduate from Duke helped shape you personally and/or professionally?

"All of my jobs since earning my PhD (post-doc wild orangutan research coordinator, curator of primates and small mammals at the Philadelphia Zoo, curator of primates at Smithsonian's National Zoo, recruiting editor at PNAS) and volunteer positions (steering committee member of the Ape TAG, Orangutan and Gibbon SSPs, research advisor to the Orangutan SSP and SAFE programs, board member of The Orangutan Conservancy) have all been directly or indirectly the result of my time and expertise gained as a student in this department. Personally, biological anthropology has always been a part of my identity."

What advice would you give students in Duke's Evolutionary Anthropology programs? 

"You should be in a program in this department because you love the subject and the work you can do as a biological anthropologist. Don't let anyone tell you to take a different path, which they likely will at some point."

Meredith Bastian