Kara C. Hoover
Phone: 907 474 6110
Email: kchoover @ alaska.edu
Webpage:
Twitter: KaraCHoover
I specialize in the evolutionary ecology of genetic variation within and among human
populations and within the genus Homo. Adaptation to new or changing landscapes is a powerful microevolutionary force that
I have explored throughout my career using approaches from population genetics, genetic
epidemiology, and bioarchaeology. My particular interest is in the human sense of
smell and the factors that shaped its evolutionary tuning as well as modern distribution
of variation in human populations. I am also interested in links between smell and
food preference/subsistence and evolutionary mismatches in modern environments. I
coined the term 'sensory inequity' to describe the differential risk to olfaction
seen in modern populations due to socio-economics and race--this ties into work on
health inequities and environmental racism. My current projects are:
- building ancient noses to learn what Neandertal and Denisova smelt
- modern human variation in olfactory receptor genes
- evolutionary mismatch between modern settings and the evolutionary ecology that tuned the sense of smell
- sensory inequity and the health consequences of increased negative sensory burden
- olfaction's role in food preference and diet
At 香港六合彩官网资料, I run the molecular anthropology lab which is equipped with standard PCR and real-time quantitative PCR. I also maintain a dedicated ancient DNA preparation lab which is PCR-free and equipped with biosafety cabinets.
I am associate faculty in Molecular Chemistry and Molecular Biology and Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University. I am a member of the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research and chair the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Committee. I have been a Visiting Scientist in the Evolutionary Genetics Department at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig, an Honorary Research Fellow at Durham University, and a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainable Environments and Cultures at Nishi Kyushu Japan.