President’s Associates Presidential Professor
Ph.D. University of Maryland, 2015
Office: Dale Hall Tower 510
Laboratory: Stephenson Research and Technology Center 2070
Email: courtney.hofman@ou.edu
Website: http://lmamr.org/ or http://courtneyhofman.com/
I am a molecular anthropologist interested in the diverse ways in which humans interact with their environments on two very different scales: human-microbe and human-wildlife. First, I investigate the evolution of the mammalian microbiome, from pathogens to commensals. This work is situated in the ongoing discussions of the ethics of conducting biomolecular research. The second area of my research focuses on human-wildlife interactions and their influence on changing environments over the past several millennia with the ultimate goal of informing conservation decisions. Drawing on genomics, proteomics, stable isotopes, archaeology, ecology and evolution, my research is inherently interdisciplinary, collaborative and applied.
I believe that we should apply the information we can learn from these studies of the past to problems we are facing in the present, especially developing realistic goals for ecosystem restoration, informing wildlife conservation and understanding disease ecology. Through interdisciplinary partnerships with biologists, managers, health professionals, anthropologists, and other stakeholders, I utilize a long-term anthropological perspective for addressing ongoing ecological and health challenges to diverse audiences.
2022 Reeder-Myers, L.A., T.J. Braje, C.A. Hofman, E.A. Elliott Smith, C. Garland, M. Grone, C.S. Hadden, M. Hatch, T. Hunt, A. Kelley, M.J. LeFebvre, M. Lockman, I. McKechnie, I.J. McNiven, B. Newsom, T. Pluckhahn, G. Sanchez, M. Schwadron, K. Smith, T. Smith, A. Spiess, G. Tayac, V.D. Thompson, T. Vollman, E.M. Weitzel, and T.C. Rick. Forgotten fisheries, Indigenous communities, and the shifting baseline of global oyster harvest. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29818-z
2022 Rick, T., T. Braje, K. Easterday, L. Graham, C.A. Hofman, B. Holguin, A. Mychajliw, L. Reeder-Myers, and M. Reynolds. Cultural Keystone Places and the Chumash Landscapes of Kumqaq', Point Conception, California. American Antiquity. doi: 10.1017/aaq.2021.154
2021 Eller, A.R., S.L. Canington, S. Saiyed, R.M. Austin, C.A. Hofman, S. Sholts. What does it mean to be wild? Assessing human influence on the environments of nonhuman primate specimens in museum collections. Ecology and Evolution. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8006
2021 Zuckerman, M., R.M. Austin, C.A. Hofman. Historical Anatomical Collections of Human Remains: Exploring Their Reinterpretation as Representations of Racial Violence. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Invited commentary. doi: 10.1177/00027162211008815.
2021 Fellows Yates, J.A., I.M. Velsko, F. Aron, C. Posth, C.A. Hofman, R.M. Austin, C.E. Parker, A.E. Mann, K. Nägele, K.W. Arthur, J. W. Arthur, C.C. Bauer, I. Crevecoeur, C. Cupillard, M.C. Curtis, L. Dalén, M. Díaz-Zorita Bonilla, J.C Díez Fernández-Lomana, D.G. Drucker, E. Escribano Escrivá, M. Francken, V.E. Gibbon, M.R. Gonzalez Morales, A. Grande Mateu, K. Harvati, A.G. Henry, L. Humphrey, M. Menéndez, D. Mihailović, M. Peresani, S. Rodríguez Moroder, M. Roksandic, H. Rougier, S. Sázelová, J.T. Stock, L.G. Straus, J. Svoboda, B. Teßmann, M.J. Walker, R.C. Power, C.M. Lewis, K. Sankaranarayanan, K. Guschanski, R. Wrangham, F.E. Dewhirst, D.C. Salazar-Garcia, J. Krause, A. Herbig, C. Warinner. The evolution and changing ecology of the anthropoid primate oral microbiome. PNAS. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2021655118.
