PHD STUDENT BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
She/Her/Hers
Matriculated September 2023
Research Interests
Evolutionary medicine, noncoding DNA, genetics, genomics, speciation, evolution of human physiology, genetic disease.
About
Nicole Merullo is a first year PhD student working in Dr. Hodges-Simeon’s lab. She is broadly interested in how the hominin lineage evolved adaptations to internal anatomy and how those adaptations exist in today’s world. She plans on taking a genomic approach to compare the human genome and primate genomes to identify key gene and regulatory loci where the human lineage diverges. Before attending BU, Nicole completed her B.A. in Anthropology at George Washington University where she spent two years working on an ethnographic research project studying DC teens and their relationship to their cell phones. Following her undergraduate degree, she worked as an educator at the Boston Museum of Science in the Hall of Human Life. She then worked at Tufts Medical Center in the Division of Nephrology coordinating investigational drug clinical trials for patients with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease, a genetic disease which sparked her interest in the unique adaptations of human organ systems.
Awards & Grants
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP). (awarded April 2023, using Sep 2023-Aug 2026).
Publications
- forthcoming