Dr Mark Grabowski
School of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Email: M.W.Grabowski@ljmu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0151 904 1991
@markwgrabowski
Google Scholar
ORCID
Dr. Mark Grabowski is a paleoanthropologist and evolutionary biologist whose research focuses on the causes and consequences of macroevolutionary changes in morphology. Dr. Grabowski uses an approach that relies on measurement theory and statistics to provide insights into the evolutionary processes that produced the changes seen in fossil record and among living taxa today. Methods include quantitative genetics, evolutionary modeling, and phylogenetic comparative methods. Topics of interest include the origins and adaptations of our species and our lineage. Past field work includes searching for Miocene fossil apes in Creu Conill, Spain and Hammerschmiede, Germany, and Eocene Primates in the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming, USA. Dr. Grabowski is the co-lead of the Joint MSc. Human Evolution Programme between LJMU and the University of Liverpool and former Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Human Evolution.
Degrees
University of Illinois, United States, PhD
Certifications
2023, Advance HE, United Kingdom, Fellow, UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) Recognized Teacher
Academic appointments
- Fellow, Project Title: The Importance of Measurement Theory in Paleobiology, CAS (Centre for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters), 2021 - 2023
- Fellow, Project Title: Evolvability: A New and Unifying Concept in Evolutionary Biology, CAS (Centre for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters), 2019 - 2020
- Senior Lecturer In Evolutionary Anthropology, Liverpool John Moores University, 2018 - present
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, 2017 - 2018
- Visiting Faculty, Anthropology, Dartmouth College, 2017 - 2017
- Guest Researcher, Centre for Ecology and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 2015 - present
Postgraduate training
- James Arthur Postdoctoral Fellow, United States, Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, 2015 - 2017
- Fulbright Scholar, Norway, Centre for Ecology and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 2014 - 2015
- Postdoctoral Scientist, United States, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, 2012 - 2014
Highlighted publications
Grabowski M. 2024. Blouch: Bayesian Linear Ornstein-Uhlenbeck Models for Comparative Hypotheses Uyeda J. Systematic biology, DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Voje KL, Saulsbury JG, Starrfelt J, Latorre DV, Rojas A, Kinneberg VB, Liow LH, Wilson CJ, Saupe EE, Grabowski M. 2023. Measurement theory and paleobiology Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 38 :1165-1176 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grabowski M, Pienaar J, Voje KL, Andersson S, Fuentes-González J, Kopperud BT, Moen DS, Tsuboi M, Uyeda J, Hansen TF. 2023. A Cautionary Note on "A Cautionary Note on the Use of Ornstein Uhlenbeck Models in Macroevolutionary Studies". Systematic Biology, :syad012 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grabowski M, Kopperud BT, Tsuboi M, Hansen TF. 2023. Both diet and sociality affect primate brain-size evolution. Systematic Biology, 72 :401-418 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Young M, Richard D, Grabowski M, Auerbach BM, De Bakker BS, Hagoort J, Muthuirulan P, Kharkar V, Kurki HK, Betti L, Birkenstock L, Lewton KL, Capellini TD. 2022. The developmental impacts of natural selection on human pelvic morphology Science Advances, 8 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Other
Eyre J, Williams SA, Grabowski M, Winters S, Pontzer H. 2024. Corrigendum to “The effect of bi-iliac breadth on core body temperature” [J. Hum. Evol. 195 (2024) 103580] (Journal of Human Evolution (2024) 195, (S0047248424000885), (10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103580)) Journal of Human Evolution, 197 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Journal article
Eyre J, Williams SA, Grabowski M, Winters S, Pontzer H. 2024. The effect of bi-iliac breadth on core body temperature Journal of Human Evolution, 195 :103580 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Tsuboi M, Sztepanacz J, De Lisle S, Voje KL, Grabowski M, Hopkins MJ, Porto A, Balk M, Pontarp M, Rossoni D, Hildesheim LS, Horta-Lacueva QJ-B, Hohmann N, Holstad A, Lürig M, Milocco L, Nilén S, Passarotto A, Svensson EI, Villegas C, Winslott E, Liow LH, Hunt G, Love AC, Houle D. 2024. The Paradox of Predictability Provides a Bridge Between Micro- and Macroevolution Journal of evolutionary biology, 37 :1413-1432 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grabowski M. 2024. Blouch: Bayesian Linear Ornstein-Uhlenbeck Models for Comparative Hypotheses Uyeda J. Systematic biology, DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Tsuboi M, Kopperud BT, Matschiner M, Grabowski M, Syrowatka C, Pélabon C, Hansen TF. 2024. Antler Allometry, the Irish Elk and Gould Revisited Evolutionary Biology, 51 :149-165 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Voje KL, Saulsbury JG, Starrfelt J, Latorre DV, Rojas A, Kinneberg VB, Liow LH, Wilson CJ, Saupe EE, Grabowski M. 2023. Measurement theory and paleobiology Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 38 :1165-1176 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grabowski M, Pienaar J, Voje KL, Andersson S, Fuentes-González J, Kopperud BT, Moen DS, Tsuboi M, Uyeda J, Hansen TF. 2023. A Cautionary Note on "A Cautionary Note on the Use of Ornstein Uhlenbeck Models in Macroevolutionary Studies". Systematic Biology, :syad012 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Spear JK, Grabowski M, Sekhavati Y, Costa CE, Goldstein DM, Petrullo LA, Peterson AL, Lee AB, Shattuck MR, Gómez-Olivencia A, Williams SA. 2023. Evolution of vertebral numbers in primates, with a focus on hominoids and the last common ancestor of hominins and panins Journal of Human Evolution, 179 :1-16 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grabowski M, Kopperud BT, Tsuboi M, Hansen TF. 2023. Both diet and sociality affect primate brain-size evolution. Systematic Biology, 72 :401-418 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Young M, Richard D, Grabowski M, Auerbach BM, De Bakker BS, Hagoort J, Muthuirulan P, Kharkar V, Kurki HK, Betti L, Birkenstock L, Lewton KL, Capellini TD. 2022. The developmental impacts of natural selection on human pelvic morphology Science Advances, 8 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Villmoare B, Grabowski M. 2022. Did the transition to complex societies in the Holocene drive a reduction in brain size? A reassessment of the DeSilva et al. (2021) hypothesis Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Williams SA, Prang TC, Meyer MR, Nalley TK, Van Der Merwe R, Yelverton C, García-Martínez D, Russo GA, Ostrofsky KR, Spear J, Eyre J, Grabowski M, Nalla S, Bastir M, Schmid P, Churchill SE, Berger LR. 2021. New fossils of Australopithecus sediba reveal a nearly complete lower back eLife, 10 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Love AC, Grabowski M, Houle D, Liow LH, Porto A, Tsuboi M, Voje KL, Hunt G. 2021. Evolvability in the fossil record Paleobiology, :1-24 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Irish JD, Grabowski M. 2021. Relative tooth size, Bayesian inference, and Homo naledi Amercian Journal of Physical Anthropology, DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Arner AM, Grogan KE, Grabowski M, Reyes-Centeno H, Perry GH. 2021. Patterns of recent natural selection on genetic loci associated with sexually differentiated human body size and shape phenotypes. PLoS Genetics, 17 :e1009562-e1009562 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Prang TC, Ramirez K, Grabowski M, Williams SA. 2021. Ardipithecus hand provides evidence that humans and chimpanzees evolved from an ancestor with suspensory adaptations Science Advances, 7 :1-13 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Tsuboi M, Kopperud BT, Syrowatka C, Grabowski M, Voje KL, Pélabon C, Hansen TF. 2020. Measuring Complex Morphological Traits with 3D Photogrammetry: A Case Study with Deer Antlers Evolutionary Biology, 47 :175-186 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Roseman C, Capellini TD, Jagoda E, Williams SA, Grabowski M, O'Connor C, Polk JD, Cheverud J. 2020. Variation in mouse pelvic morphology maps to locations enriched in Sox9 Class II and Pitx1 regulatory features Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Walker CS, Cofran ZD, Grabowski M, Marchi D, Cook RW, Churchill SE, Tommy KA, Throckmorton Z, Ross AH, Hawks J, Yapuncich GS, Van Arsdale AP, Rentzeperis FI, Berger LR, DeSilva JM. 2019. Morphology of the Homo naledi femora from Lesedi American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 170 :5-23 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grabowski M, Hatala KG, Jungers WL. 2018. Body mass estimates of the earliest possible hominins and implications for the last common ancestor Journal of Human Evolution, 122 :84-92 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grabowski M, Grabowski M, Jungers WL. 2017. Evidence of a chimpanzee-sized ancestor of humans but a gibbon-sized ancestor of apes Nature Communications, 8 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grabowski M, Porto A. 2016. How many more? Sample size determination in studies of morphological integration and evolvability Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 8 :592-603 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Grabowski M, Voje KL, Hansen TF. 2016. Evolutionary modeling and correcting for observation error support a 3/5 brain-body allometry for primates Journal of Human Evolution, 94 :106-116 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Jungers WL, Grabowski M, Hatala KG, Richmond BG. 2016. The evolution of body size and shape in the human career Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Grabowski M. 2016. Bigger brains led to bigger bodies?: The correlated evolution of human brain and body size Current Anthropology, 57 :174-196 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Grabowski M, Hatala KG, Jungers WL, Richmond BG. 2015. Body mass estimates of hominin fossils and the evolution of human body size Journal of Human Evolution, 85 :75-93 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Grabowski M, Roseman CC. 2015. Complex and changing patterns of natural selection explain the evolution of the human hip Journal of Human Evolution, 85 :94-110 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Zipkin AM, Hanchar JM, Brooks AS, Grabowski MW, Thompson JC, Gomani-Chindebvu E. 2015. Ochre fingerprints: Distinguishing among Malawian mineral pigment sources with Homogenized Ochre Chip LA-ICPMS Archaeometry, 57 :297-317 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Hopkins WD, Meguerditchian A, Coulon O, Bogart S, Mangin J-F, Sherwood CC, Grabowski MW, Bennett AJ, Pierre PJ, Fears S, Woods R, Hof PR, Vauclair J. 2014. Evolution of the central sulcus morphology in primates Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 84 :19-30 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Grabowski MW. 2013. Hominin Obstetrics and the Evolution of Constraints Evolutionary Biology, 40 :57-75 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Grabowski MW, Polk JD, Roseman CC. 2011. Divergent patterns of integration and reduced constraint in the human hip and the origins of bipedalism Evolution, 65 :1336-1356 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Chapters
Voje K, Grabowski M, Holstad A, Porto A, Tsuboi M, Bolstad G. 2023. Does Lack of Evolvability Constrain Adaptation? If So, on What Timescales? Evolvability A Unifying Concept in Evolutionary Biology? 9780262374699 DOI Publisher Url
DeSilva J, Grabowski M. 2020. Femur Zipfel B, Richmond B, Ward C. Hominin Postcranial Remains from Sterkfontein, South Africa, 1936-1995 Oxford University Press. New York, NY 9780197507667 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Wood B, Grabowski M. 2015. Macroevolution in and around the hominin clade Macroevolution Explanation, Interpretation and Evidence :345-376 Springer 9783319150451 DOI Publisher Url
preprint
Irish JD, Grabowski M. 2021. Tooth size apportionment, Bayesian inference, and the phylogeny of Homo naledi DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Williams SA, Prang TC, Meyer MR, Nalley TK, Van Der Merwe R, Yelverton C, García-Martínez D, Russo GA, Ostrofsky KR, Eyre J, Grabowski M, Nalla S, Bastir M, Schmid P, Churchill SE, Berger LR. 2021. New fossils ofAustralopithecus sedibareveal a nearly complete lower back Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DOI Publisher Url
Arner AM, Grogan KE, Grabowski M, Reyes-Centeno H, Perry GH. 2020. Patterns of recent natural selection on genetic loci associated with sexually differentiated human body size and shape phenotypes DOI Publisher Url
Conference publication
Hunt G, Love AC, Grabowski M, Houle D, Liow LH, Porto A, Tsuboi M, Voje KL. 2021. EVOLVABILITY IN THE FOSSIL RECORD Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, GSA Connects 2021 in Portland, Oregon DOI Publisher Url
Highlighted activities
Editorial boards:
Journal of Human Evolution, Co-Editor-in-Chief, https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-human-evolution. 2024
Professional activities
Editorial boards:
Journal of Human Evolution, Co-Editor-in-Chief, https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-human-evolution. 2024
Journal of Human Evolution, Associate Editor, https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-human-evolution. 2018