Liza J. Shapiro

Liza J. Shapiro is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts. Her research focuses on the functional morphology, ontogeny, and evolution of primate locomotion, employing quantitative comparative analysis of musculoskeletal systems in extant and extinct primates alongside biomechanical studies in both laboratory and field settings.

Her work emphasizes the vertebral musculoskeletal system in primates and investigates quadrupedal locomotion mechanics. Recent publications explore lemur locomotor mechanics, wild primate limb kinematics, and the role of compliant substrates in augmenting leaping behavior. She has also contributed to debates on hominin locomotor evolution through fossil analysis.

Shapiro teaches courses including Primate Anatomy, Biological Anthropology, and Primate Evolution, with active research programs involving collaborations with scholars like Andrew Barr and Brett Nachman. She contributes to the Academic Phylogeny of Biological Anthropology project and maintains field and laboratory research methodologies.