AAAG Student Prize


The AAAG awards a prize for the best two student poster or podium presentations at the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and/or the Human Biology Association meetings.  The prize was first awarded in 2004.

Student Prize Information


The Outstanding Student Presentation in Human Genetics (OSPHG) prize is given for the best poster or podium presentation at the HBA annual meeting. The Outstanding Student Presentation in Anthropological Genetics (OSPAG) prize is presented for the best student presentation at the AAPA annual meeting.

All student presenters are welcome to include their presentation for consideration, so long as you meet the following requirements:

  1. You are the lead author on your presentation and you are the one presenting (either podium or poster).
  2. Your presentation title and abstract, the time and date of your presentation, and an indication that you want to be considered for the competition are received by the submission deadline (TBD for 2013).
  3. You are a AAAG member in good standing by the submission deadline. (Membership information is here.)

Past awardees have received a $200 cash prize and a one-year subscription to the journal Human Biology.

2012 Student Prize

Congratulations to Carrie Veilleux and Aaron Sams for each winning a 2012 AAAG student prize award. Carrie Veilleux of the University of Texas at Austin (with Edward E. Louis and Deborah A. Bolnick) presented “Genetic evidence of widespread differential selection for color vision among nocturnal lemurs.” Aaron Sams of the University of Wisconsin-Madison presented “Natural selection and celiac disease.” Each prize winner received a $200 cash prize and a one-year subscription to the journal Human Biology. The AAAG once again thanks Human Biology’s publisher Wayne State University Press for donating journal subscriptions.


Carrie Veilleux

2011 Student Prize

Congratulations to our two 2011 AAAG student prize winners.  Our prize winners this year are Charla Marshall of Indiana University for her presentation "Mitochondrial haplogroup C4c confirmed in ancient North America" (with G. G. Millward and F. A. Kaestle), and Laurel N. Pearson of Penn State University for her poster "Using tests for signatures of selection to validate and prioritize admixture mapping results" (with J. P. Kusanovic, R. Romero, J. F. Strauss, and M. D. Shriver).  Each prize winner received a check for $200 and a 1-year subscription to the journal Human Biology.  The AAAG extends its great appreciation to Human Biology publishers Wayne State University Press for donating the journal subscriptions. 
 
2010 Student Prize

The AAAG congratulates Ellen Quillen, our 2010 Outstanding Student Presentation Award winner.  Ms. Quillen, a graduate student at Penn State University, presented her research on "The role of selection-nominated candidate genes in determining Indigenous American skin pigmentation" (co-authors: A.W. Bigham, R. Mei, and M.D. Schriver). 

Richard Sherwood and Ellen Quillen

AAAG President Richard Sherwood congratulates 2010 AAAG Student Prize winner Ellen Quillen

2009 Student Prize

The 2009 student prize went to Kerry McAuliffe Dore from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.  Her presentation was "Genetic variability in three South African vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) populations" (with J.P. Grobler, J. G. Lorenz, and T. R. Turner).

2008 Student Prize

In 2008, Abigail Bigham of Pennsylvania State University was awarded the Outstanding Student Presentation in Human Genetics (OSPHG) for her presentation "Comparing Signatures of Natural Selection in Two High Altitude Human Groups" (with X. Mao, T. Brutsaert, L. G. Moore, R. Mei, and M. D. Shriver). Luz-Andrea Pfister of Arizona State University won the Outstanding Student Presentation in Anthropological Genetics (OSPAG) for her presentation "Full genome comparisons of Mycobacterium: Insight into the origin of tuberculosis and leprosy" (with M. S. Rosenberg and A. C. Stone).

Leslea Hlusko and Andrez Luz-Pfister

AAAG president Leslea Hlusko (left) and 2008 OSPAG winner Luz-Andrea Pfister (right)

2007 Student Prize

Kyle Walsh and Sam Sholtis were the 2007 student prize winners. Mr. Walsh, of the Ohio State University, presented a poster at the HBA meetings entitled "Genealogical research and genetic haplotyping of American Founder Mutation Patients Point to Shared Ancestry in Eighteenth Century German-Americans."  Mr. Sholtis' talk, which was presented at the AAAG symposium within the AAPA meeting, was "Primate dental morphology: Something different but nothing new." Mr. Sholtis is a student at Pennsylvania State University.

2006 Student Prize

Heather Lawson of Penn State University and Greg Blomquist of the University of Illinois were our 2006 winners.  Ms. Lawson's poster presented "A comparative genomics approach to primate craniofacial evolution."  Mr. Blomquist's podium presentation was "Quantitative genetics of female rhesus macaque age-specific reproductive output:  Evidence for trade-offs and their implications."

2005:  (prize not awarded)

2004 Student Prize 

Mark Zlojutro of the University of Kansas was the AAAG student prize winner.  His presentation was  "Mitochondrial DNA variation in Yakutia: the genetic structure of an expanding population" by Mark Zlojutro, with M. Sorensen, J.J. Snodgrass, L.A. Tarskaya, and M.H. Crawford.  (MZ, MHC:  Laboratory of Biological Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS;  MS, JJS:  Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; LAT:  Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow).  Alternate prize winners were Holly Mortensen for "Ancient migrations and population expansions in East Africa: genetic evidence for Tanzanian prehistory" (with K. Gonder, E. Tarazona Santos, J. Hiro, and S.A. Tishkoff), and Beth Schook for "Detecting relationships in the Great Lakes region using ancient mtDNA."