Amanda Melin is a Canadian biological anthropologist and professor at the University of Calgary. She is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Primate Genomics and Dietary Ecology. Her research focuses on primate sensory ecology, dietary adaptations, genomics and microbiomes.
Research
Melin combines field studies of wild primates with genetics, genomics and behavioural ecology. Her research examines how sensory systems influence food selection and how these traits vary with ecological conditions. She has studied colour vision and other sensory adaptations in primates.
Much of her field research has involved white-faced capuchins in Costa Rica. Her work has examined diet, foraging behaviour, sensory variation and the genetic basis of sensory traits. She has also studied the microbiomes of wild primates using genomic approaches.
Melin has developed non-invasive methods for studying wild animals, including approaches for obtaining biological samples and conducting genomic analyses in the field.
Education and career
Melin received a BSc with distinction in Biological Sciences from the University of Calgary in 2003, an MA in anthropology in 2006, and a PhD in anthropology in 2011.
After completing her PhD, Melin conducted an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship in ecology and evolutionary biology at Dartmouth College. She subsequently worked as an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis before returning to the University of Calgary in 2016. She became an associate professor in 2020 and a professor in 2024.
At the University of Calgary, Melin is a professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology and holds the Canada Research Chair in Primate Genomics and Dietary Ecology. She is also cross-appointed in Medical Genetics and is a member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute.
Her field research has included Costa Rica and Cayo Santiago in Puerto Rico.
Honours
Melin holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Primate Genomics and Dietary Ecology.
Her honours include the American Society of Primatologists Early Career Achievement Award in 2017 and the University of Calgary's Killam Emerging Research Leader Award in 2018.
In 2025, Melin was named a member of the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. She also received the Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship.
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