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NYCEP (The New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology), c/o Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, The American Museum of Natural History

Educational Program

New York, New York, USA

NYCEP (The New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology), c/o Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, The American Museum of Natural History (Established 1991)
New York , New York 10024 USA
Director: Eric Delson Phone: 1 (212) 769-5992 Fax: 1 (212) 769-5842 E-mail: eric.delson@lehman.cuny.edu
Affiliations: The City University of New York; Columbia University; New York University; American Museum of Natural History; The Wildlife Conservation Society

Mission: NYCEP is a graduate training program in all aspects of the behavioral and evolutionary biology of primates, funded by National Science Foundation grants since 1992, most recently by the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) initiative. It consists of three degree-granting institutions: City University of New York (CUNY), Columbia University (CU), and New York University (NYU), in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Evolutionary primatology is a discipline that draws its theory, methods, and empirical data from many areas within the biological sciences, anthropology, and geology. Our focus is on human as well as nonhuman primates from the perspectives of comparative morphology, paleontology and systematics, molecular and population genetics, behavior and ecology, and conservation biology.

Principal Research Programs: Behavioral biology, conservation and ecology: Cords, Delgado, Difiore, Mccann, Oates, Robinson, Rockwell, Sanderson, Sterling, Stinson, Swedell, Tattersall and Terrace; Paleontology and comparative morphology: Anton, Bailey, Bock, Bromage, Delson, DeMenocal, Flynn, Gannon, Harmon, Harrison, Harvati, Hof, Holloway, Jolly, Laitman, MacPhee, Meng, Novacek, PECH, Plummer, Reidenberg, Rohlf, Rosenberger, Schaffler, St. John, Stefan, Tattersall, Terranova, Van Couvering, Wahlert and Yuan; Population genetics and molecular evolution: de Salle, Di Fiore, Disotell, Jolly, Melnick, Morales, Rockwell, Steiper and Wheeler.

Training Opportunities: CUNY and NYU offer the Ph. D. in Anthropology with a specialty in the physical (=biological) subdiscipline; CU offers a Ph. D. in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, with a specialization in evolutionary primatology. NYU requires an M.A. qualification en route to the Ph. D., while M.A. and M. Phil. degrees are available at CUNY and CU. Students formally enroll in one of the three universities but participate in an integrated and overarching training program which unites students and faculty of all five institutions. Students in this program take courses in all the above-listed areas at the three universities, attend seminars that draw upon the staff of all five cooperating institutions, and have the opportunity to engage in original research in laboratories, museums, and in the field.

Financial Aid: NYCEP provides funds for research and travel support and coordinates course programs and seminars. The graduate programs of the three collaborating universities offer full financial aid programs with regular fellowships (up to $30,000 per year for 4 years from the IGERT award, available only to US citizens, nationals and permanent residents) as well as special opportunities for minority students. Members of groups underrepresented in science are especially encouraged to apply. Appropriate undergraduate majors for NYCEP applicants include biological anthropology and other life sciences. Students apply to one or more cooperating universities and send a one-page tracking form to NYCEP; this is available from the web site or from Dr. Delson (see above). Applications can be obtained from NYCEP or university web sites or admissions offices. Annual application deadline is early January.

Number of Staff: 49

Key Personnel: CORE faculty are those with whom students will take most courses and who will be likely dissertation supervisors: Susan Anton, Anthropology/NYU (paleoanthropology, skeletal biology), 1 (212) 992-9786, E-mail: susan.anton@nyu.edu; Shara Bailey, Anthropology/NYU (paleoanthropology, dental anthropology), 1 (212) 998-8576, sbailey@nyu.edu; Marina Cords, Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology (EEEB)/CU (primate behavior, especially African cercopithecids), 1 (212) 854-7337, E-mail: mc51@columbia.edu; Roberto Delgado, Anthropology/Hunter College, CUNY (ecology and social behavior of great apes and humans, conservation), 1 (212) 772-5415, E-mail: roberto.delgado@hunter.cuny.edu; Eric Delson, Anthropology/Lehman College, CUNY and Paleontology/AMNH (paleoanthropology, catarrhine systematics and evolution, biochronology), 1 (212) 769-5992, E-mail: eric.delson@lehman.cuny.edu; Tony Di Fiore, Anthropology/NYU (primate behavior and ecology, population and molecular genetic applications), 1 (212) 998-3813, E-mail: anthony.difiore@nyu.edu; Todd R. Disotell, Anthropology/NYU (molecular systematics and evolution, catarrhine primates), 1 (212) 998-3811, E-mail: todd.disotell@cmclc2.nyu.edu; Terry Harrison, Anthropology/NYU (catarrhine systematics, comparative morphology and primate paleontology), 1 (212) 998-8581, E-mail: terry.harrison@nyu.edu; Ralph L. Holloway, Anthropology/CU (paleoneurology, human evolution), 1 (212) 854-4570, E-mail: rlh2@columbia.edu; Clifford J. Jolly, Anthropology/NYU (genetics, systematics, and comparative morphology of primates), 1 (212) 998-8574 or 8580, E-mail: clifford.jolly@nyu.edu; Jeffrey T. Laitman, Center for Anatomy and Functional Morphology/Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Anthropology/CUNY (paleoanthropology, evolution of speech), 1 (212) 241-5622, E-mail: jeffrey.laitman@mssm.edu; Colleen McCann, Mammals/WCS (conservation biology, behavior and ecology of cercopithecids, hormonal mediation of behavior), 1 (718) 220 5161, E-mail: cmccann@wcs.org; Don J. Melnick, CERC & EEEB/CU (population genetics and molecular evolution of higher primates), 1 (212) 854 8068, E-mail: djm7@columbia.edu; John F. Oates, Anthropology/Hunter College, CUNY (ecology and behavior of catarrhine primates, tropical forest conservation), 1 (212) 772-5473, E-mail: joates@hunter.cuny.edu; Ekaterina Pechenkina Anthropology/Queens College, CUNY (paleopathology, skeletal biology, diet and disease, China), 1 (718) 997-5529, E-mail: ekaterina.pechenkina@qc.cuny.edu; Tom Plummer, Anthropology/Queens College, CUNY (paleoanthropology, early human behavioral ecology, osteology, zooarchaeology), 1 (718) 997-5514, E-mail: thomas.plummer@qc.cuny.edu; Alfred Rosenberger, Anthropology/Brooklyn College, CUNY (evolution, systematics, adaptations of platyrrhines and early anthropoids, 3D morphology), 1 (718) 951-5234, E-mail: alfredr@brooklyn.cuny.edu; Vince Stefan, Anthropology/Lehman College, CUNY (osteology, cranial morphology, Pacific islands, forensic anthropology), 1 (718) 960-8405, E-mail: vincent.stefan@lehman.cuny.edu; Michael Steiper, Anthropology/Hunter College, CUNY (molecular anthropology, genomics, population genetics, phylogenetics, malaria), 1 (212) 772-5418, E-mail: michael.steiper@hunter.cuny.edu; Sara Stinson, Anthropology/Queens College, CUNY (population biology of living humans), 1 (718) 997-2893, E-mail: sara.stinson@qc.cuny.edu; Larissa Swedell, Anthropology/Queens College (primate, especially cercopithecid, social behavior, population genetics) 1 (718) 997-2897, E-mail larissa.swedell@qc.cuny.edu; Ian Tattersall, Anthropology/AMNH (systematics and evolution of lemuriform primates and hominids), 1 (212) 769 5877, E-mail: iant@amnh.org. RESOURCE Faculty are available for consultation, may supervise internships and participate on dissertation committees: Walter Bock, Biology/CU and Ornithology/AMNH (vertebrate functional and evolutionary morphology, biomechanics, systematics, evolutionary theory); Tim Bromage, Biomaterials/NYU Dental School (paleoanthropology and developmental morphology); Rob de Salle, Invertebrate Zoology/AMNH (molecular systematics); John Flynn, Paleontology/AMNH Biology & Earth Science/CUNY (paleontology and systematics of Cenozoic mammals, esp. South America, Carnivora, Primates); Patrick J. Gannon, Otolaryngology, Mount Sinai/NYU (Primate brain evolution and relationship to communication, neurochemistry); Elizabeth Harmon, Anthropology/Hunter College, CUNY (paleoanthropology, Australopithecus, postcranial evolution); Katerina Harvati, Max Planck Inst Evolutionary Anthropology and Anthropology/CUNY (paleoanthropology, human cranial variation, geometric morphometrics); Patrick Hof, Neurobiology, Mount Sinai/NYU (neurobiology); Ross D. MacPhee, Mammalogy/AMNH (evolution, development and systematics of primates and other mammals); Jin Meng Paleontology/AMNH (paleontology and systematics of early Cenozoic mammals); Peter deMenocal, Geological Sciences/CU (African Plio-Pleistocene climate reconstruction and human evolution); Juan Carlos Morales, EEEB/CU (molecular and population genetics, conservation); Michael Novacek, Paleontology/AMNH (paleontology and systematics of mammals and early primates); Joy Reidenberg, Anatomy Mount Sinai/NYU (comparative morphology); John G. Robinson, International/WCS (conservation biology, Neotropical primates); Robert Rockwell, Biology/City College, CUNY and Ornithology/AMNH (population genetics, population ecology and dynamics, conservation biology); James F. Rohlf, Anthropology/CUNY and SUNY/Stony Brook (geometric morphometrics, multivariate statistical methods); Eric Sanderson Landscape Ecology/WCS (landscape ecology, GIS, conservation biology); Mitchell Schaffler, Orthopaedics, Mount Sinai/NYU (functional and comparative morphology); Katherine St. John, Math & Computer Science/Lehman College, CUNY (computational biology, phylogeny algorithms); Eleanor J. Sterling, Biodiversity/AMNH (primate social behavior, ecology and conservation, especially in Madagascar); Herbert S. Terrace, Psychology/ CU (primate language and learning, cognitive psychology); Carl J. Terranova, CUNY Medical School (evolutionary anatomy of strepsirrhine primate limbs, developmental and clinical anatomy of human limbs); John A. Van Couvering, Micropaleontology Press and Anthropology/CUNY (geochronology and stratigraphy of the Old World Cenozoic); John Wahlert, Biology/Baruch College, CUNY and Paleontology/AMNH (mammalian, especially rodent, paleontology, morphology and evolution); Ward Wheeler, Invertebrate Zoology/AMNH (molecular systematics); Michael S. Yuan, Clinical Dentistry/CU Med School (dental anthropology).

Species Supported: (WCS houses many primate species at its several facilities)

Associated Field Sites: Kakamega Forest, Kenya; Marina Cords; social behavior and ecology of Cercopithecidae and other primates. Seneze, France; Eric Delson; paleontology of Late Pliocene mammals. Kanjera, Kenya; Tom Plummer; paleoanthropology of Plio-Pleistocene early humans. Others in development.

Web Site: http://www.nycep.org

Entry created: 1998-03-30
Review requested: 2003-11-17
Entry last reviewed: 2006-08-19

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