Jean-Jacques Hublin, Ph.D., is currently a Professor at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (Germany), where he serves as the Director of the Department of Human Evolution. He has also been an honorary Professor at the University of Leipzig since 2004. Initially his research focused on the origin and evolution of Neanderthals and he has proposed an accretion model for the emergence of the Neandertal lineage that roots it in the time of the Mid-Pleistocene. He also worked on the processes associated with the emergence of Homo sapiens and on the interactions between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans in Europe. He developed the use of medical and virtual imaging in the reconstruction and study of fossil hominids and paid attention to growth and development issues. He has led field operations in North Africa, Spain and France.

In addition to his scientific papers, he has regularly published popular books (with translations in English, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese) and articles on the subjects of Neanderthal and early modern human evolution. Significant past research and teaching appointments include: Deputy Director for Anthropology, Prehistory and Paleo-environmental Sciences, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (2000-2003), Professor at the University of Bordeaux (1999-2004), Researcher at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (1981-2000), Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley (1992), Harvard University (1997) and Stanford University (1999 & 2011), Elected member of the French National Committee of Scientific Research (1991-2000).