Zach Throckmorton, PhD

Evolutionary anthropologist

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Evolving Planet at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Evolving Planet at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Hello and welcome to my website.

I am a biological anthropologist, a scientist who studies the human animal.  More specifically, I am a paleoanthropologist. I study the fossil record of human evolution by researching both anatomical variation and function in living people and our primate relatives, then applying those data to the human fossil record.  I am a lower limb evolution specialist. These narrow interests come from my broad fascination with animals – what Darwin called “endless forms most beautiful.”

I am also a four-field anatomist, with training and expertise in gross anatomy, embryology, neuroanatomy, and histology. Academic year 2022-2023 marks my 10th year (!) as a medical school anatomy professor. I am now in my second year working as Medical Human Anatomy Director and Associate Professor at the Colorado University School of Medicine’s new branch campus at Colorado State University.

Launching a new medical school is a challenging and rewarding undertaking. I was founding faculty at the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2017 and at CU-SOM at CSU in 2021. Developing processes to train future physicians is an interesting endeavor – combining best practices in anatomical sciences education specifically, adult learner pedagogy broadly, and making them work with real-world practical constraints has added a new layer to my career.

As a research fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg, I am grateful to be able to conduct paleoanthropological research and contribute to South African science.

Originally from Lansing, Michigan, I earned my BS in Anthropology-Zoology from the University of Michigan, my MS in Human Biology from the University of Indianapolis, and my PhD in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

My Twitter handle is @throckman.