Kristen Prufrock

Kristen Prufrock serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine, where she investigates biomechanical adaptations in mammalian chewing systems across evolutionary and developmental timescales using gross anatomy, microCT modeling, and muscle architecture analysis.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Functional Anatomy and Evolution from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2020)
• MSc in Evolutionary Anthropology from the University of Toronto (2014)
• HBSc in Biological Anthropology and Zoology from the University of Toronto (2012)

Her research integrates paleontological, anatomical, and biomechanical methodologies to explore dietary adaptations in primates, with emphasis on dental topography, fossil morphology, and evolutionary ecology. By analyzing microCT scans and muscle fiber architecture, she elucidates how food processing demands shape masticatory structures in both living and extinct mammals, contributing to broader understandings of adaptive radiation and functional constraints.

Publications spanning 2016-2021 reveal consistent focus on primate paleontology, dental evolution, and biomechanical modeling, with recurring themes in Eocene fossil analysis, niche competition, and quantitative topographic methods applied to extinct species like omomyids and paromomyids.

Research support includes:

• Duke Lemur Center Director’s Fund for “Ontogeny of the Chewing System in Strepsirrhines”
• Canadian Association for Biological Anthropology Shelley Saunders Thesis Research Award for “Ontogeny of the Chewing System in Strepsirrhines”

Collaborative work with institutions including Duke Lemur Center and multiple universities demonstrates active engagement in interdisciplinary paleontological networks despite no explicitly described laboratory infrastructure in available materials.