Heidi Colleran

Heidi Colleran is a Lise Meitner Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, leading the 'BirthRites' group focused on the coevolution of culture and demography. She holds a background in philosophy, Russian, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology. Her research bridges socio-cultural anthropology, demography, and cultural evolution, with a focus on reproductive behavior, population dynamics, and multilingualism. She currently collaborates on an ERC grant studying multilingualism's historical dynamics in Vanuatu and other regions.

Her field-based projects include studies in rural Poland and Vanuatu, exploring topics like fertility transitions, cultural transmission, and social practices. She co-leads interdisciplinary projects such as the Vanuatu Languages and Lifeways initiative. Her work integrates genetics, linguistics, and political science, emphasizing cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Colleran’s research highlights themes like the impact of market integration on kin networks, the role of education in fertility decline, and the analysis of large pedigrees to understand Neolithic and Avar social structures. She actively mentors PhD and postdoctoral researchers, emphasizing opportunities for collaboration in her group.