April 25, 2012 - Jaime Ullinger, assistant professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, was named the third co-director of the Bioanthropology Research Institute.
"Jaime has actively involved her students in several institute research projects which has led to presentations and posters at national meetings," said Ronald Beckett, professor emeritus of Health Sciences and co-director of the institute. "Jerry [Conlogue] and I feel that Jaime, with her background in biological anthropology and her research, will be a fantastic addition to the Bioanthropology Research Institute and its efforts."
"I'm quite excited to be working with the Bioanthropology Research Institute," Ullinger said. "I am very excited about anthropology growing at Quinnipiac and collaborating in different departments."
Ullinger, who studies skeleton remains from archeological sites to determine how the inhabitants lived, said she anticipates utilizing the institute's technology to better understand the kind of impact the transition to urbanism had on people's daily lives.
"Our institute was modeled after the early Paleopathology association in that anyone interested in the bioanthropology and bioarchaeology of cultural remains and artifacts is welcome to become involved. Jaime's enthusiasm for this type of research and toward student involvement makes her a logical faculty member to become involved," Beckett said. "We hope Jaime will continue to do what she has demonstrated this first year. We know that she will bring another layer of expertise and vision to the Bioanthropology Research Institute."
Beckett said Ullinger's background will make the institute stronger. "The Bioanthropology Research Institute is internationally recognized in bioantropological research," Beckett said. "We hope that Jaime can build on that reputation and, with her research ideas and the students she mentors, tap into the established network of global colleagues thereby enriching both her work and the experiences of her students. The sky is the limit."
Ullinger has worked with the institute since starting at Quinnipiac last August. "We have already been working quite a bit together," Ullinger said. "This formalizes the work we have already done."
She said she and her co-directors hope to further engage undergraduates with the institute. "They will do more original research," Ullinger said. "Their increased involvement will illustrate how different fields of study can work effectively together in order to solve problems and answer questions."