George (PJ) Perry

Associate Professor of Anthropology and Biology; Chair, Bioinformatics and Genomics Intercollege Graduate Program
George Perry
George (PJ)
Perry
He/Him/His
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Biology; Chair, Bioinformatics and Genomics Intercollege Graduate Program
Department Affiliations
External Affiliations
Interests
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Genomics
Population Genetics
Address
Phone
814-863-7654
Website
Perry Lab
Biography

Education

B.A., Anthropology, Wake Forest University

M.A., Anthropology, Arizona State University

Ph.D., Anthropology, Arizona State University

 

Postdoctoral Training

University of Chicago, 2008-2011

 

Research Interests

  • Anthropological genomics
  • Paleogenomics (ancient DNA)
  • Human body size evolution
  • Human impacts on non-human evolutionary biology
  • Parasites as proxies for human evolution

Visit our Laboratory Website for more information and to see profiles on each lab member! Our projects are broadly motivated by hypotheses about human evolutionary ecology -- how we have adapted to our variable or changing environments -- and how human behavior has affected the evolutionary biology of other species that share our ecosystems. Most of our projects have both genomics laboratory and computational research components. When possible, we incorporate functional analyses into our studies, for example with cell line (including with induced pluripotent stem cell, or iPSC) and parasite experiments. In addition to our modern DNA lab, we have a separate ancient DNA (paleogenomics) lab where we work with the bones and teeth of individuals from extinct species or from prehistoric populations of extant species. Finally, some projects also involve the collection of complementary ecological data at international field sites in Madagascar, Uganda, and Peru. Our research is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.