Kara Hoover

 KaraC. Hoover

Kara C. Hoover

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  • Reviews2
Oct 21, 2019
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Would take again: No
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Awful

The class of Professor Hoover is very boring and she did not help with that. Her assignment instructions were usually quite unclear. And when you ask her to explain it, she tells you that it isn't her fault and to just listen to her lectures.

Biography

University of Alaska Fairbanks - Anthropology

I specialize in the evolutionary ecology of genetic variation within and among human populations and within the genus Homo. Adaptation to new or changing landscapes is a powerful microevolutionary force that I have explored throughout my career using approaches from population genetics, genetic epidemiology, and bioarchaeology. My particular interest is in the human sense of smell and the factors that shaped its evolutionary tuning as well as modern distribution of variation in human populations. I am also interested in links between smell and food preference/subsistence and evolutionary mismatches in modern environments. I coined the term 'sensory inequity' to describe the differential risk to olfaction seen in modern populations due to socio-economics and race--this ties into work on health inequities and environmental racism. My current projects are:

building ancient noses to learn what Neandertal and Denisova smelt
modern human variation in olfactory receptor genes
evolutionary mismatch between modern settings and the evolutionary ecology that tuned the sense of smell
sensory inequity and the health consequences of increased negative sensory burden
olfaction's role in food preference and diet

At UAF, I run the molecular anthropology lab which is equipped with standard PCR and real-time quantitative PCR. I also maintain a dedicated ancient DNA preparation lab which is PCR-free and equipped with biosafety cabinets.

I am affiliate faculty in the Molecular Chemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty, Honorary Research Fellow at Durham University, and a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainable Environments and Cultures. I was a Visiting Scientist in the Evolutionary Genetics Department at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig.

Expertise:
Biological Anthropology: bioarchaeology, anthropological genetics, evolution of human olfaction, dental anthropology, developmental stress

Resume

  • 2005

    Temple University

    University of Alaska Fairbanks

    As a teaching faculty at Temple University

    I delivered courses at the undergraduate level. In addition to introductory anthropology courses

    I taught courses in human genetics and bioarchaeology.

    Temple University

  • 2004

    Emory University

    During my one year as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Emory

    I taught Introduction to Anthropology

    Introduction to Archaeology

    Human Adaptation

    and Nutritional Anthropology.

    Emory University

    Assistant Professor of Anthropology

    I engage in research on biological and genetic human adaptation through projects on hunter-gatherer resilience in prehistoric Japan and the evolution of human olfaction in Eurasia. I teach courses in bioarchaeology and anthropological genetics.

    University of Alaska Fairbanks

    University of Alaska Fairbanks

    Fairbanks Alaska

    I engage in research on biological and genetic human adaptation through projects on the evolution of human olfaction and hunter-gatherer resilience in prehistoric Japan. I teach courses in bioarchaeology and anthropological genetics.

    Associate Professor

  • 2002

    Georgia State University

    As a lecturer at GSU

    my teaching load was 3 sections of Introduction to Anthropology each term. Plus

    I taught one upper level/graduate course each term. Upper division courses included: Bioarchaeology

    Diet Demography and Disease

    and Human Variation. During the summer I taught Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.

    Georgia State University

    Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

    I am currently working on a broad-scale analysis of evolutionary forces acting on the current distribution of human variation in olfactory receptor genes.

    Visiting Researcher

    Leipzig Area

    Germany

  • 1997

    PhD

    Biological Anthropology

  • 1994

    MA

    Anthropology

  • 1990

    French

    MA

    Religion

  • 1987

    BA

    Social Sciences/History

    Alpha Chi

  • DNA

    Higher Education

    Evolution

    PCR

    Genetics

    Grant Writing

    Anthropology

    Statistics

    SPSS

    Research

    Teaching

    Writing

    Life Sciences

    Science

    Temporal variation and interaction between nutritional and developmental instability in prehistoric Japanese populations

    Smell with Inspiration

    Evolution of Olfactory Receptors

    The scent of emotion

    sex

    and evolution

    Exploring the relationship between hypoplasia and odontometric asymmetry in Isola Sacra

    an Imperial Roman necropolis

    Occupation Mediates Ecosystem Services with Human Well-Being

    The geography of smell

    Fluctuating Asymmetry as a Measure of Developmental Stress at the Mohr Site

    Prospects and challenges for an archaeology of global climate change

    Hoover

    I am a biological anthropologist interest in the evolution of the human sense of smell. My current research is focused on genotype-phenotype associations and variation within and among human populations for food-related odors. I am also developing research in rural and urban differences in olfactory functioning and perception and how this relates to food culture. Finally

    I am interested in how these findings may translate to intersectoral research and quality of life.\n\nKey words: olfactory receptor genetics

    urban and rural variation in olfactory function

    olfactory phenotype-genotype variation. Older interests in include bioarchaeology

    Jomon Japanese prehistory and bioarchaeology

    and genetic epidemiology\n\nWebpage and blog: www.smellofevolution.com

    Kara C.

    Hoover

    Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

online

ANTH 392

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