Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Department of Primatology
Deutscher Platz 6
D - 04103 Leipzig, Germany

phone: +49 341 3550 222
fax: +49 341 3550 299
e-mail: vigilant@[>>> Please remove the brackets! <<<]eva.mpg.de

Background and interests
Curriculum Vitae
Publications

I use genetic analyses to address questions on the evolution of humans and other primates, particularly the great apes. I began my career working on the evolution of mitochondrial DNA in human populations. At the MPI-EVA, I have had the opportunity to work collaboratively with field researchers studying primate social behavior.

Topics we work on in my lab may focus on the level of individual social groups, such as examining the affects of kinship on the social behavior of pairs of individuals.  Other studies use genotyping of entire primate populations to infer dispersal behavior and group social dynamics.

Recently I have become interested in using large-scale sequencing approaches for understanding the long-term histories of primate populations and seeing the effects of high variance in male reproductive success on patterns of genomic variation.

University of California, Berkeley, California
Genetics, 1986-1990, PhD

Chemical Biology, 1982-1986, B.S. with High Honors
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey 

Research Scientist, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Dept of Primatology.  January 1999 to present, permanent appointment.  Research area:  Genetic analysis of wild primate populations.

Research Associate, Penn State University, Dept. of Anthropology. September 1992 to May 1994;  September 1997 to December 1998.  Research area:  Molecular evolution of human populations.

Postdoctoral fellow, Penn State University, Dept. of Anthropology.  September 1990 to August 1992.  Research area:  Molecular evolution of human populations in Africa.

Graduate student in Genetics Department, Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California, Berkeley.  September 1986 to August 1990.  Research area: human mitochondrial DNA variation and evolution in Africa.

International Journal of Primatology, Editorial board 2003-present

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Associate Editor 2006-2010

Primates, Associate Editor 2007-present.