Anthropology faculty and students awarded grants to support research

Two Anthropology faculty members were awarded $5,000 Pilot Grants from Western’s Research and Sponsored Programs last week. Assistant Professor of Anthropology Tesla Monson received a pilot grant to support new directions in the investigation of the primate eye. Monson, who holds a doctorate in integrative biology, runs the Primate Evolution Lab at Western. Anthropology Professor Josh Fisher, who holds a doctorate in anthropology and has been involved with extensive research on city environments in Nicaragua, received a pilot grant to investigate the ecological infrastructures of cities. 

Additionally, three graduate students and two undergraduate students were awarded grants to support their ongoing research. Julia Epps of the Primate Evolution Lab was awarded a $750 Undergraduate Research Grant to support her work investigating the ethical treatment and storage of human skeletal remains. Caitlin Millard, a student in the Medical Anthropology Lab, received an undergraduate research award of more than $500 for their research, “Queering the Birth Experience: Documenting Queer Individuals’ Labor and Delivery Experiences.” Anthropology graduate student Jack Szvetecz, who also works in the Primate Evolution Lab, was awarded a Graduate Student Research Grant for his research exploring the evolution of dental variation and diet in early North American primates. Elizabeth Baseman and Elizabeth Smythe were awarded the Graduate Student Research Grant for their projects on Afghani resettlement in Bellingham and the politics of dance, respectively. All three Graduate Student Research Grants were for $1,500.

WWU's Josh Fisher, in green shirt above, talks with the owner of a recycling business near a city dump in Cuidad Sandino, Nicaragua.
Anthropology graduate student Jack Szvetecz smiles with foliage in the background.
Elizabeth Baseman kneels with her dog in front of a mural.
Julia Epps smiles with an ancient city sprawling in the background.