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Department of Human Evolution
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
Germany
Phone: + 49 (0) 341 3550 375
Fax: + 49 (0) 341 3550 399
nandini.singh@eva.mpg.de
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Nandini Singh was employed as a Marie-Curie doctoral fellow (EVAN Training Network) at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig. Her PhD thesis is supervised by Dr. Katerina Harvati and Dr. Jean-Jacques Hublin.
My current research explores the role of morphological integration, developmental stability and canalisation in hominid cranial evolution, focusing on Homo, Pan, Gorilla and Pongo. Morphological integration is coordinated variation among different parts of an organism. Canalisation is a process that buffers development against environmental and genetic disturbances to maintain phenotypic constancy. Developmental stability is similar to canalisation but it arises from buffering against developmental perturbations generated within individuals. All three processes are properties of our developmental system and can influence morphological evolution in different ways. In my research I examine the effects of these processes on the cranium, particularly focusing on differences among closely related hominids. In doing so, this research directly addresses the question: How do different biological processes influence the evolution of our physical form?
This research employs landmark-based 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify and analyse variations in cranial shape.
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Curriculum vitae
MPEA
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