Professor of Anthropology
: 814-865-0796
Dr. Ryan is interested in primate and human evolutionary morphology, skeletal biology, and bone biomechanics. His research makes use of advanced computational techniques such as high-resolution computed tomography imaging and three-dimensional quantification to understand bone function and biomechanics. Dr. Ryan’s research seeks to answer questions related to normal bone development, the responsiveness of bone to mechanical loading, and the relationship between specific human activity patterns and bone structure. He is currently working on projects investigating interspecific variation in trabecular bone structure in living and extinct primates, characterizing the ontogenetic development of cortical and trabecular bone in the human postcranial skeleton, and developing methods to integrate 3D geometric morphometrics and bone biomechanics. Dr. Ryan is also interested in advanced 3D imaging and scientific visualization techniques. Dr. Ryan has his works on his Google Scholar page.