Zachary Cofran

Zachary Cofran is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Vassar College, specializing in biological anthropology. He runs the Human Evolution and Development (HEAD) Lab, where students engage in hands-on research about human origins through fossil analysis and comparative primate studies.

• University of Michigan PhD (2012)
• Vassar College faculty since 2016

His research focuses on evolutionary developmental biology, particularly examining:

• Brain evolution in hominins
• Homo naledi fossil species
• Modern gibbon biology and behavior
• Primate developmental patterns

Publications show expertise in Neanderthal cranial volumes (2021), Australopithecus brain endocasts (2023), and Homo naledi skeletal development (2022, 2024). Recent media appearances include explaining evolutionary misconceptions to CNN and Discover Magazine.

• Mary Clark Rockefeller Chair
• Quoted in 2022 CNN piece about human-ape evolutionary relationships