Principal Investigator:
Dr. Kevin Hatala
Dr. Hatala completed a BS in Biological Anthropology & Anatomy at Duke University, followed by a PhD in Hominid Paleobiology at The George Washington University. He conducted postdoctoral research as a National Science Foundation Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Research Fellow, and as a Junior Scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Dr. Hatala was a faculty member at Chatham University from 2016-26, and joined the University of Minnesota in Fall 2026.
Student researchers:
I am actively seeking new students who are interested in joining the lab – please reach out to me at hatal006@umn.edu!
Lab alumni:
Martha Deng
B.A. Biology, Chatham University
Research internship, 2025-26
Marwa Rahim
B.S. Biology (Human Biology), Chatham University
Lab research assistant, 2025-26
Lilian Kithinji
Research Scientist, National Museums of Kenya
Research fellow, Koobi Fora Field School 2025
Makoto Kobayashi
Ph.D. student, University of Chicago
Research student, Koobi Fora Field School 2025
Field school project: “Faunal footprints from Koobi Fora suggest similar animal communities associated with Paranthropus and Homo“
Elise Marrah
Undergraduate student, Bryn Mawr College
Research student, Koobi Fora Field School 2025
Field school project: “Reconstructing hominin locomotion, anatomy, and variation from fossil footprints in Koobi Fora Area 1A”
Allie Rutledge
BS Biology (Human Biology), Chatham University
Independent Study and Capstone, 2023-25
Hulme research fellow, Summer 2023
Capstone project: “A geometric morphometric approach for estimating group size from fossil footprint assemblages”
Lucas Tavares Naief
BS Biology (Cell & Molecular), Chatham University
Independent Study, 2023
Hulme research fellow, Summer 2023
Capstone project: “Osteological signals of flexor pollicis longus morphology in great apes”
Ben Brown
BS Biochemistry, Chatham University
DEAL research fellow, 2022-23
DEAL research project: “Bringing the past to the future: experiencing fossil footprint sites through virtual reality”
Elizabeth Lusardi
BA Biology, Media Arts Minor, Chatham University
Lab research assistant, 2021-22
NSF research fellow, Summer 2021
Capstone project: “3D Dynamic arch measurements during walking on different substrates”
Mahima Sangtani
BS Biology (pre-med), Chatham University
DEAL research fellow, Summer 2020
NSF research fellow, Summer 2021
Melaina Esola
BS Biology (Cell and Molecular), Chatham University
NSF research fellow, Summer 2020
Sabreen Megherhi
BS Biochemistry, Chatham University
Lab research assistant, 2018-20
NSF research fellow, Summer 2019
Independent study project: “Effects of substrate compliance on deformation of the human foot revealed by biplanar X-ray”
Kay Fiske
BS Biochemistry, Chatham University
NSF research fellow, Summer 2019
Kyra Tani Little
BS Biology (Human Biology), Chatham University
NSF research fellow, Summer 2019
Hatala Lab 