Anatomy and Cell Biology
Mentor Name: Dr. Andrew Deane
- Internship Location:
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Medicine
- Pre Professional Interests Preferred:
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Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Nursing, Pre-Occupational Therapy, Pre-Optometry, Pre-Pharmacy, Pre-Physical Therapy, Pre-Veterinary Medicine
- Environment:
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Lab
- Dress Code:
- Lab attire
- Website:
- https://medicine.iu.edu/faculty/23905/deane-andrew/
- Majors Preferred:
-
Actuarial Science/Economics, Anthropology, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Computer and Information Science , Exercise Science, Forensic and Investigative Sciences, Health Sciences, Health Services Management, Informatics, Medical Humanities and Health Studies, Neuroscience, Nursing, Public Health
- Hours per week:
- Flexible based on student needs
- Schedule:
- Flexible within regular work hours
- Summary:
- The Deane paleoanthropology lab uses comparative methods (gross anatomy, histology, 3-D computer modeling, 3-D printing) to address research questions related to ape and early human evolution and the human fossil record. Specifically, we are interested in the functional relationships between the hard (bones and teeth) and soft (muscle) tissue anatomy associated with diet (what an animal eats) and locomotion (how an animal moves) and what these relationships might reveal about these species and how they lived. The more accurate our interpretations of fossil ape and early human locomotion and diet, the greater the potential for that information to contribute answers to research questions about why these species evolved, what made them successful in some cases and extinct in others, and the connection between diet and locomotion and the origins of the lineages of living apes and modern humans.
- Internship Duties:
- 1) Creating and editing 3-D computer models of fossil ape and early human fossils, 2) using 3-D software to measure curvature and surface area of selected regions of fossil models, 3) assisting with the dissection and collection of muscle samples from primate cadavers (woolly monkeys, gorillas, siamangs, macaques), 4) preparing histological slides of muscle tissue, 5) creating 3-D plaster/plastic casts of fossil ape and early human specimens, and 6) using a 3-D printer to generate 3-D models of fossil ape and early human specimens.
- Qualifications:
- None. All necessary training will be provided.
