Andrea Lukova

Dr. Andrea Lukova is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Department of Human Origins. Her work focuses on reconstructing locomotor diversity in hominins through micro-CT analysis of lower limb bone internal morphology. She specializes in trabecular bone structure and its implications for bipedalism evolution, particularly studying the Homo naledi foot.

Education:

• PhD in Anthropology (2024), University of Kent – Dissertation: Functional Morphology of the Hominin Knee
• MA in Anthropology of Past Populations (2020), University of West Bohemia – Dissertation on primate wrist trabecular bone
• BA in Social and Cultural Anthropology (2018), University of West Bohemia – Award-winning thesis on carpal evolution

Research interests include primate locomotion, functional morphology, and evolutionary biomechanics. She has conducted fieldwork at the Portuguese Lapa do Picareiro site (Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition) and uses advanced software (Avizo, 3D Slicer, Medtool) for imaging and statistical analyses.

Key awards: Recipient of the Faculty Dean’s Award for Outstanding Bachelor’s Thesis (2018). Her recent publications explore trabecular bone architecture in australopiths and hominins, emphasizing locomotor diversity and methodological innovations in imaging.

Teaching experience includes postgraduate Biological Anthropology at University College London. Technical skills span 3D imaging, statistical software (R, SPSS), and advanced graphic design tools.