I am Professor for Paleoanthropology at the Institute for Archaeological Sciences and director of the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironments, both at the University of Tübingen. My PhD is from the City University of New York (2001), and before coming to Tübingen I was Assistant Professor at New York University (2001-04) and Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (2004-09). I am currently also adjunct Professor at the City University of New York and Professor II at the Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Norway. My research interests focus on the evolution of Pleistocene humans and modern human origins, as well as on the application of 3-D geometric morphometric and virtual anthropology to paleoanthropology. In addition to my laboratory and collections-based work, I conduct long-term field research, mainly in Greece.

I have been involved with ESHE since its inception: I am a founding member and have long served on the board (2011-12,2016-present), where I championed the development of the ethics policies of the society and the adoption of environmentally friendly practices for our conferences. I am strongly committed to equal opportunity and the promotion of women and underrepresented groups in science.

Since elected ESHE President in 2020, I have worked to adapt our conference to the challenges of the pandemic and post-pandemic realities, including instituting a hybrid format to both increase inclusivity and reduce the conference’s carbon footprint. I also initiated ESHE’s collaboration with the Paleoanthropology Society to jointly publish the diamond open access journal PaleoAnthropology, which I co-edit since 2021, and spearheaded the move of the journal to a new electronic submission system and website, working towards getting it indexed. Earlier this year I submitted PaleoAnthropology to Web of Science for review and hope for a positive result.

If elected again, I will further promote these goals and work toward adapting ESHE to current and future challenges, including the rising inflation and future expense structure of the society and conferences. At the same time, I will provide continuity with the society’s original vision, and work to ensure its continuing success as a forum for discussion of cutting-edge work in human evolution studies.

Marie Soressi is professor of archaeology and chair of the Human Origins research unit at Leiden University, The Netherlands. She has devoted over two decades to researching and excavating the behaviours of Late Neanderthals and the earliest anatomically modern humans in western Europe. Her areas of expertise encompass diverse subjects such as excavation techniques, stratigraphy, site formation processes, stone tools, bone tools, and manganese oxides. In recent years, she has collaborated closely with experts analysing ancient proteins and ancient DNA. She was honoured with a prestigious VICI grant from the Dutch Research Council in 2020.

Marie Soressi highly values the ESHE meetings, recognizing them as invaluable gatherings that unite experts involved in excavating ancient sites and studying the cultural and biological aspects of human evolution. These annual gatherings, held in Europe, serve as a vital catalyst for stimulating and advancing our comprehension of humanity's distant past.

Marie Soressi was one of the founding members of the society and served as a board member and board secretary from 2011 to 2020. She contributed to organise the annual meeting in Leiden in 2017 and the two online meetings in 2020 and 2021. In the past three years, she has held the position of vice-president. Her dedication to the society remains unwavering, and she is eager to continue serving in her current role as vide-president for the next three years. If re-elected, Marie will continue to prioritize the visibility of a diverse range of fields with the ESHE society. She is determined to ensure the meeting remains accessible to early career researchers and actively maintain its reduced carbon footprint.

I am a senior researcher and lecturer in the Paleoanthropology Workgroup at the Institute for Scientific Archaeology, at the University of Tübingen. My research focuses on the use of dental anthropological approaches for the classification of hominin fossil teeth as well as for the reconstructions of diets and life history in Paleolithic hominins. In 2021, I was granted an ERC consolidator grant to run the REVIVE project, which aims to revive Paleolithic research in my home country Lebanon for the purposes of understanding hominin migrations and habitation of the central Levant. This project, is heavily based on archaeological fieldwork in Lebanon. I have been a member of ESHE since 2014 and participated in many of its annual meetings since then. I have also served on the organizing committees of EHSE 2021 virtual meeting and 2022 Tübingen meeting and since 2021 I am also responsible for compiling the abstracts volume. In 2020, I was elected as an ESHE board officer as a secretary. It has been a great pleasure serving the society and striving to maintain the success of its annual meeting for the past 3 years. I would be honored to continue with this service for a second term.

Though I was educated in the US, I have spent the majority of my post-PhD academic life in Europe, first as the leader of an independent research group at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, and now as an associate professor and vice dean for research in the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University. I’m broadly interested in understanding human diets in the past and how they may have shaped our evolutionary trajectory, with a focus on the use of plant foods. This question cannot be answered by one method alone, so I work both with modern people using an ethnographic and experimental energetics approach, as well as in the laboratory, analyzing plant nutritional properties and exploring how dental calculus is a record of human diet.

Serving as the adjunct secretary for the past three years, I have helped guide ESHE through two years of online-only meetings, and into a more hybrid format that helps us reach a broader audience around the world. While I hope that we do not have to face similar challenges in the coming years, I am proud of how this adaptable and strong board kept ESHE going, and I am very happy to be part of the team. Over the next years, I hope to continue to foster a vibrant and inclusive ESHE, retaining the cross-disciplinary approach that makes it so special while making the best use of new technologies to help make it even more accessible.

As both a palaeoanthropologist and physician I am interested in the question of how we got human and what characterizes us. My research focuses on the evolution of bipedal locomotion, human-like birth and birth difficulties, and how diseases shape our body and that of our ancestors, including australopithecines, Homo erectus and Neanderthals. To answer these questions, I am applying a range of different techniques such as comparative functional morphology, computer-assisted three-dimensional reconstructions, geometric morphometrics, biomechanical and metabolic analyses, and palaeopathology.

I studied anthropology and medicine at the University of Zürich with a PhD thesis on the evolution of bipedalism in Australopithecus africanus and a MD thesis on pathologies of the spine during human evolution. After a post-doctoral position at the Anthropological Department of the University of California, Davis, I lectured at the Anthropological Institute, University of Zürich, and was senior researcher at the Institute of Forensic Medicine as well as senior lecturer at the Institute of Anatomy in Zürich. It followed a clinical training in orthopaedics, general surgery, and internal medicine in various hospitals. Since 2013 I am leading the Evolutionary Morphology Group at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich. In addition, I am working in a small general internal medicine practice.

Since 2012, I have been a member of the ESHE and together with my students I have regularly presented my research at every ESHE meeting since then. In addition, I have served as ombudsperson of the ESHE since 2020. I am now applying to become the successor of Gerhard Weber as treasurer of the society. For this important position, I have gained extensive experience as treasurer (2006 to 2015), then as president (2016–2021), and currently as the past president (since 2022) of the Swiss Society of Anthropology. I would be happy if I could share this experience with you and serve now the ESHE.

My main areas of research concern the morphological evolution of hominins, with a particular interest on internal cranial morphology observed by mean of imaging methodologies. My ongoing research project deals with the morphology of the brain, studying living humans to infer the evolution of the human brain. I am employed by the French scientific research centre (CNRS) and I work in a famous institution, the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle, in the Musée de l'Homme. I have a pronounced interest in the diffusion of science to a wide audience. I am particularly applying to envisage a possible future issue of the ESHE meeting in Paris.

I am a paleoanthropologist and junior professor at the University of Poitiers (PALEVOPRIM) in France. I started my research on the African fossil record within the frame of my PhD at the University of Toulouse (France) in 2012. During my first postdoctoral contract at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) in 2016, I developed a particular interest in the evolution of the hominin brain. I joined the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) as a postdoctoral researcher in 2017 to study the fossil hominin assemblage from the ‘Cradle of Humankind’ and I have been a member of the Sterkfontein team since then. In 2020, I moved to Cambridge (UK) where I was lecturing and pursuing my work on human evolution as an assistant professor until I got a position as CNRS junior professor at PALEVOPRIM in France. My research mainly focuses on the paleobiology of early hominins and the adaptative and evolutionary contexts in which our own genus emerged (www.ameliebeaudet.com). I am coordinating the EndoMap project (www.endomap.org) that aims to map the brain of fossil hominins through the combined use of imaging techniques, 3D modelling software and mathematical tools for neuroscience.

I attended my first ESHE meeting in 2012 as a master student and I have been contributing to nearly all of the annual meetings since then (either as an author/co-author and/or attendee). I have been an active member since 2016 and I was elected as regular board member in 2021. As such, I assisted with the organisation of the previous meetings (e.g., reviewing abstracts, chairing sessions) and I have been working on promoting and improving inclusivity in the ESHE meetings, more particularly by applying for funding to provide childcare and to financially support contributing students. I would be thrilled and honored to serve for a second term as a regular board member.

My name is Tamara Dogandzic and I am a Palaeolithic archaeologist at MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution in Neuwied, Germany. My research focus lies in investigating the wider context of human behaviour and adaptations through lithic technology studies, particularly during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. I am also a field archaeologist and have been conducting excavations in Pleistocene Archaeology for many years. Although my primary research focus has been centred on the Balkan peninsula, I have actively contributed to projects conducted in France, Asia, and Africa.

I am very interested in joining the board of ESHE, where I can actively contribute to society's smooth functioning. As a board member, I would gladly assist in organizing annual meetings and support the implementation of important actions such as Student prizes and travel grants. In particular, I would be deeply committed to fostering inclusivity during the annual meetings. I would be particularly focused on enhancing family-friendly measures, including the provision of childcare options, to accommodate participants with familial responsibilities. Additionally, I am committed to promoting and facilitating the attendance of a diverse range of participants who often face barriers such as visas and travel costs. Furthermore, I believe in making meeting formats accessible to those unable to attend in person, thus ensuring wider participation and engagement.

I am a paleoanthropologist specializing in evolutionary morphology and the origin of our species. My research focuses on the evolution and development of human craniofacial morphology in fossil species ranging from Homo erectus to H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens. I use three-dimensional imaging techniques and shape analysis (geometric morphometrics) to virtually reconstruct fossil material and to quantify variation in the skull through time, across species and during growth. I also apply bone histology methods to explore facial growth patterns.

I received my PhD in 2012 jointly from the City University of New York (CUNY) and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) in Leipzig, and following my PhD, I did a post-doc at the MPI-EVA. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor in Biological Anthropology at the University of Central Florida and an Associate Researcher in the Department of Human Origins MPI-EVA.

I have been a member of ESHE since 2012 and I am enthusiastic to serve a more active role as a board member. As a board member, I will be committed to assist students, early career scientists, and women in the field. Furthermore, as an overseas member I hope to stimulate scientific communication and collaboration between Europe and North America.

I am a paleoanthropologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna (2005), working as a group leader in the Department of Human Origins at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. The main theme of my research is to understand how evolutionary changes in development shape organisms. I study the growth patterns and morphology of humans, their fossil ancestors and primate relatives.

I specialise in the virtual reconstruction of fossils and the statistical analysis of shape using a set of methods called geometric morphometrics. My publications explore different aspects of ontogenetic and phylogenetic shape change - the evolution and development of the braincase and its endocast, the evolution of the face, as well as subtle shape differences in teeth and the bony labyrinth. My group's research takes an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together the analysis of fossil skulls, ancient genomes, brain imaging and gene expression.

As a founding member, I have taken on administrative responsibilities and have been an integral part of the core organising team during ESHE's first decade. I am proud of the profound impact ESHE has had on our field, encouraging constructive discussion and maintaining a collegial atmosphere at our annual conferences. We have also been open to innovation, embracing new formats such as Pecha Kucha presentations, online and hybrid conferences, and supporting childcare. Looking ahead, I am excited about the future growth and adaptability of ESHE and would be delighted to contribute my experience and expertise to the new ESHE team.

https://www.evodevo.de

I am a molecular biologist using ancient DNA for reconstructing the genetic history of past populations. The major focus of my research to date has been the application of cutting-edge laboratory methods to some of the most poorly preserved hominin specimens, while maximizing the amounts of their genomic data for downstream analyses.

I am currently a group leader at the interface between the Department of Evolutionary Genetics and the Department of Archaeogenetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. My group’s main goal is to reconstruct the fine-scale dynamics of interactions between Neandertals and modern humans while integrating the genomic data of ancient individuals with the data from archaeology, paleoclimate, chronology and palaeoanthropology.

I have been an active member of ESHE from 2015, an elected board member from 2019, and a part of the organizing committee of the ESHE 2021 ‘Worldwide’ online meeting. As a dedicated board member, my foremost commitment is to foster inclusivity and amplify the representation of students and early career researchers in ESHE meetings, particularly those from developing countries. Additionally, I am actively engaged in efforts to bring upcoming ESHE meetings to countries with a rich history of Palaeolithic research that have not yet hosted the event, such as Croatia. Thus, I believe I can continue making a valuable contribution to the society as a board member and I am excited to continue driving forward the development of ESHE in the coming years.

I am a Paleolithic Archaeologist with broad interests in many aspects of prehistory. My current excavations in Israel and Armenia examine the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, while previous studies delved into the Stone Age of South Africa and the Paleolithic settlement of Syria. As a Senior Researcher in the research center, "The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans" (ROCEEH), I have shifted my perspective from the level of sites and regions to a more continent-wide scale. By bringing larger questions into focus, I have been able to appreciate the interactions of climate and migration on the evolution of humans and their cultural interconnectivity.

I would welcome the opportunity to continue contributing to the society if I am re-elected to the board. I have enjoyed helping steer the society forward and hope to continue doing so in the coming years. I have been a member of ESHE since its inception and attend most meetings. I especially enjoy the close-knit feel of the society and appreciate how the society empowers early career researchers through its generous bursaries and awards. The academic level of the annual meetings and the diverse group of scientists attending has always impressed me, with each contributor bringing insights that foster a healthy exchange of information among the different disciplines.

I am a Junior Research Group Leader and Senior Lecturer in Biological Anthropology at the University of Tübingen, Germany. My research group is dedicated to investigating the proposed evolutionary interplay between stone tool use and language communication, while most of my research has focused on bio-cultural evolution and the reconstruction of habitual manual behaviors in past humans. Additionally, I have been elected as the representative of doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers in my institution for several years.

Ever since I first joined the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (ESHE) in 2013, I followed all developments within our Society as closely as possible, actively participating in all yearly conferences, meetings, and events. Since I became a Board Member (2021), I have actively contributed to all actions and initiatives of the Society, including the co-organization of ESHE 2022 in Tübingen. If given the opportunity to be re-elected, I am determined to further promote the active participation and further integration of early career researchers within ESHE. Furthermore, I will be devoted to promoting communication among its members, encouraging interaction among researchers from diverse scientific fields who nevertheless focus on similar evolutionary questions and hypotheses.

I am an Associate Professor of Prehistory and Leader of the EvoAdapta Research Group at the University of Cantabria, Spain (www.evoadapta.unican.es). My research focuses on the evolution of human resilience to different climatic and environmental conditions during the Pleistocene and Holocene, concentrating on subsistence strategies. Currently, I am the Principal Investigator of SUBSILIENCE ERC project (www.subsilience.eu). This project aims at reconstructing how MIS3 climatic oscillations and the arrival of AMH affected Neanderthal decline by analysing the diet carried out by both human species and their subsistence adaptation in key sites located in the Southern European Peninsulas.

Between 2015-2021 I was an Affiliate Scholar at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge. I regularly collaborate with multidisciplinary researchers, as shown in my publications. I have supervised postdoctoral researchers (4 funded by the Marie Curie Programme) and directed 4 PhD dissertations. I have published two books and more than 100 papers, mainly in JCR journals, being the guest editor in two special issues. I actively participate in international scientific meetings and have been a Guest Lecturer at Spanish and European universities. Since 2009 I have been the coordinator and Liaison of the Taphonomy Working Group (TWG) of the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ) to promote international debate on taphonomic aspects in Archaeology with biannual congresses published in JCR journals.

I have been an ESHE member since its foundation, where I have regularly participated. As a board member, I will promote the integration of research into human biological and cultural evolution with dissemination to a broader public in and outside academia, as I consider this a relevant task in research nowadays. I have experience organising international meetings and coordinating worldwide researchers, under the Taphonomy discipline, that I could transfer to the ESHE for its benefit.

Marta Mirazón Lahr is Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology and Prehistory at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Clare College. She was the Director of the Duckworth Laboratory from 2000 to 2021, and the co-founder of the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies in Cambridge. Her research has principally been concerned with the origins, evolution and diversity of our species, Homo sapiens. This research has involved a range of disciplines, including human palaeontology, human biology, evolutionary genomics, and Palaeolithic archaeology. She has directed field projects in Brazil, Libya, India and the Solomon Islands. Since 2007, she has been working in East Africa, focusing on the later Quaternary of Kenya through the projects ‘The prehistory of the Kerio Valley and environs’, partly funded by the Leverhulme Trust, the ‘IN-AFRCA Project’, funded by an ERC Advanced Award, and currently through the ‘Ng’ipalajem Project: The evolutionary landscape of modern human origins in Africa’, also funded by the ERC. She has published more than 150 papers, as well as the book The Evolution of Human Diversity (CUP, 1996).

I am a Palaeolithic archaeologist with an enthusiasm for fieldwork. My research covers the archaeology of human evolution and focuses on Neanderthal and modern human behaviour and adaptations in Central and Eastern Europe. My key research themes include the ecology of Neanderthal and modern human technological organisation, mobility, and horizontal cultural transmission. I also work on lithic technology, chronostratigraphy, use of space and site formation processes at a number of Neanderthal and modern human sites in western Eurasia.

After my PhD (2009) at the Department of Human Evolution of the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, I spent some time there as PostDoc before I moved to Cambridge in 2011. Since 2021 I am based at the University of Vienna, Austria. I am running for the ESHE board to contribute to our community and help to shape ESHE as an inclusive society. I am especially concerned with student attendance and contribution to our meetings as well as helping to make our meetings a place for those of us with caring responsibilities.

I studied a bachelor’s degree in biology in Universidad de Alcalá (2008), where I also finished my doctorate in Paleoanthropology (2013). My thesis, awarded with the “Tübingen research prize for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology” of the University of Tübingen (2015), dealed with the paleobiological and morphological study of the foot remains in human evolution, especially devoted to the fossils recovered in the Pleistocene sites of Atapuerca (Spain). I am member of the Atapuerca research team from 2005 to current where I am still learning not just about anatomy and morphology in human evolution, but also stratigraphy, geology, paleontology, taphonomy, lithic industry, etc.

Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher of Universidad de Sevilla, and I am a paleoanthropologist specialising in the postcranial evolution in genus Homo, especially those from the foot, and body size reconstructions (body mass and stature).

The European Society for the study of Human Evolution is a researcher’s platform that offers the opportunity to share and discuss multiple and variated results related to Human Evolution in Europe (and worldwide), from where an important part of the Paleolithic record comes from multiple sites and fossils. Since the first inaugural meeting of the ESHE society in 2011 in Leipzig, I attended to nearly all the ESHE meetings contributing new results to the study of human fossils and Paleolithic contexts. But most importantly, learning with the many communications presented every year in the annual ESHE meeting.

My experience in more than 40 field campaigns in Pleistocene and Holocene sites, and the fact that I am principal investigator in a Pleistocene site in Spain since 2017, for sure will allow to me to offer some generalist and specialized view related with postcranial human anatomy in particular, and paleontology and human evolution in general if I get joining the board of the society. The supervising of several master degree and bachelor degree theses will make me to be closer to students attending to the ESHE meeting valuing the necessities and requirements in scientists in their early career that probably will be in next years the core team of the ESHE board. I will intensely devote my efforts to help and advice to early researchers to promote their careers in a healthy and sensate ambient inside the ESHE group meetings if elected.

I am a Margarita Salas postdoctoral fellow at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) currently based in Frankfurt for a two years research stay at the Paleoanthropology Division of the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural Museum Frankfurt. My research deals with the evolution of inner ear morphology in hominin and, more generally, the ape-and-human clade. I combine state-of-the-art digital imaging techniques and different 3D geometric morphometrics approaches to assess the phylogenetic affinities of extinct human and ape species, as well as inferring their paleoecology. More precisely, I am interested in clarifying the phylogeny of Miocene hominoids, as well as determining the relationships of kinship among late Early Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene hominins. Currently, I am designing a new project dealing with inner ear soft tissue estimation using a machine learning approach, with the goal of addressing questions related with the evolution of hearing capabilities in hominins.

I obtained my PhD in Physical Anthropology in 2021 at the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP) within the UAB Doctorate Programme, with a focus on the evolution of semicircular canal shape in anthropoid primates. Remaining affiliated with the ICP and UAB, I have instructed modules (2022/2023) for the Paleoecology and Fossil Record Master program, as well as mentored master students both at UAB and Goethe University Frankfurt. I am also affiliated with the Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología at Universidad of Alcalá and directing fieldwork activities in the Late Miocene site of Creu de Conill (Barcelona, Spain).

I joined the European Society for the study of Human Evolution when I was still an early-stage PhD student and became a proud member in 2018. Since then, I participated in ESHE initiatives and attended annual meetings, recognizing the invaluable networking and knowledge exchange opportunities they offer, which are key in advancing our understanding of human evolution. I am thus eager to obtain a more active role in ESHE and contribute to the society’s mission as a member of the ESHE board. I will prioritize fostering cross-disciplinary collaborations among the diverse array of expertise involved in human evolution studies, while maintaining the highest standards of scientific excellence. My commitment will also be dedicated to creating new opportunities for early-stage career researchers, as well as supporting diversity and inclusion for members belonging to underrepresented minorities.

I am a postdoctoral researcher for the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung in Frankfurt, Germany. My research interests include hominin postcranial functional morphology with an emphasis on pelvic anatomy. I use a combination of 3D geometric morphometrics and computer modeling to explore functional trade-offs and their biomechanical implications. Specifically, I am interested in elucidating the origins of bipedalism and the subsequent evolution of the complex human birth pattern. My latest project, entitled “Paleo-obstetrics Understanding via Simulation and Heuristic Artificial Intelligence Tools (PUSH@IT)”, is a multidisciplinary collaboration funded via a Leibniz Collaborative Excellence Grant. PUSH@IT focuses explicitly on testing assumptions of the “obstetrical dilemma” hypothesis using metabolic data and machine learning.

In 2018 I completed my Ph.D. in Physical Anthropology, with a focus on primate locomotion, through the Graduate Center (City University of New York). During this time, I was concurrently trained within the New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP) and affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. I have previously taught as an adjunct lecturer for the City University of New York (2011-2017), and more recently I instructed courses at Goethe University Frankfurt (2017-2021), University of Zürich (2018-2021) and the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (2018-2022). I held a postdoc position at the latter location through the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (2021-2023). I was also previously a postdoctoral research assistant in the Evolutionary Morphology Group at University of Zurich’s Institute of Evolutionary Medicine (2018-2021), where I maintain active collaborations as an affiliated researcher.

I joined ESHE in 2019, and I have proudly served as a regular board member since my election in 2021. During this time, I contributed substantively to the planning of the 2022 and the 2023 annual ESHE meetings, serving on the local organizing committee for the Tübingen event. I specifically assisted with abstract/meeting preparations and childcare planning. I am currently working on the continuation of securing childcare vouchers and travel grants for the 2024 meeting, (e.g., via applying for external funding opportunities to mitigate costs for members). I have therefore demonstrated my commitment to serving our organization and in my efforts to support early career scientists, especially women in science. I plan to pursue similar initiatives geared at promoting inclusivity if re-elected. Accordingly, I hope to see my investment in these inclusion efforts come to fruition by continuing to serve as a regular board member for the foreseeable future.

I am a professor of Anthropology and head of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna. I founded and lead the workgroup Virtual Anthropology,and I’m director of the Vienna Micro-CT Lab, both at the same university. My research activities centre on the evolution, growth and development of humans, their ancestors, and their closest relatives. We did some pioneering work in image processing, 3D shape and form analysis, and reconstruction of virtual specimens in the last two decades. Currently we work on hominid dental variability, the evolution of early modern humans and Neanderthals, and the transfer of our technology into other areas such as archaeology, orthodontics, or art history.

I was a founding member of the ESHE in 2010, acted as Board Member between 2011-2017, and as Board Officer between 2017-2023 (Treasurer). I was always excited about the idea of an independent European human evolution society as a strong sign and representation in the international scientific community. I am glad that ESHE became such a great success. I will step down as Treasurer this year but would be happy to contribute further as Board Member.

Frido Welker conducted his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany) between 2013 and 2016. After staying for an additional year as a postdoctoral researcher, he moved to the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), first as a postdoc and followed by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship. In 2020, he was awarded an ERC Starting Grant, allowing him to establish his research group focused on the palaeoproteomics analysis of hominin and faunal skeletal remains associated with the Middle and Upper Pleistocene. His research interests are to explore the contributions ancient protein analysis, and that of associated molecules, can make in a variety of archaeological and palaeoanthropological research contexts, from phylogenetic questions on hominin evolution to behavioural interpretations of their day-to-day lives.

Frido has been an active member of ESHE since his PhD, and has contributed to abstract reviewing for the annual conferences as well as ESHE Poster Prize judging. He would like to expand on his contributions to ESHE and dedicate his time to ensure ESHE reflects the interdisciplinary nature of our research field, including aspects related to (online) accessibility and promoting diversity represented in the conference presentations.

I am a Palaeolithic archaeologist, currently working as a lecturer at the University of Tübingen, Germany. My research focuses on diverse aspects of the cultural, behavioral and biological evolution of our genus and species in Africa and their dispersal to the rest of the world. My main expertise concerns the analysis of lithic assemblages from the Middle Stone Age to study the cultural evolution and behavioral adaptations of early Homo sapiens. I have been a member of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (ESHE) since 2013 and have been participating at meetings ever since. Regarding the Society, I particularly appreciate its interdisciplinary scope and the diverse membership consisting of researchers around the globe and on different professional levels from undergraduate student to retired professor. After a decade of being hands-off part of ESHE, I’d like to get more actively involved as a regular board member, to give something back to the organization and further develop its strengths. As a potential future board member, I would be committed to three major points: i.) a strong voice for global Palaeolithic archaeology; ii.) representing early to mid-career researchers within the ESHE organisation; iii.) acting as a bridge between European and Africanist researchers in the general field of human evolution. As a board member, I would like to start additional initiatives to fund students and early career researchers and particularly people from the Global South to be able to participate at future ESHE conferences and workshops. I am also interested to promote communication with scholars from further scientific fields that work on human evolution more broadly.