Announcing the Winners of the 2022 AABA Awards

We are proud to announce the recipients of 2022’s AABA awards.

These remarkable awardees have contributed to our discipline in diverse and impactful ways.

The recipient of this year’s Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award is Professor Emeritus John Mitani, University of Michigan. This award recognizes and honors distinguished senior members of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists. Dr. Mitani’s research concentrates on understanding the behavior of living apes. He has conducted research on gibbons, siamangs, orangutans, gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees, a rare accomplishment. His research has consistently provided new and provocative findings about the biology and behavior of these taxa, while contributing key insights into human evolution and adaptation.

Professor Leslea Hlusko (Profesor de Investigación, CENIEH, Spain, and Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley) is the recipient of this year’s Gabriel W. Lasker Service Award. This award recognizes and honors individuals who have demonstrated a history of excellence in service to the American Association of Biological Anthropologists, its members, and the field of biological anthropology more generally. Her remarkable achievements as AAPA and AABA Vice President and Program Chair for our annual conferences include her creative problem solving to provide members with a virtual conference experience in 2021. She gave us the best virtual conference that could possibly be. In addition, her innovations in providing our members with informative and ground-breaking webinars helped us remain a community during a global pandemic that separated us all.

And last but certainly not least, the 2022 AABA and Leakey Foundation Communication & Outreach Award in Honor of Camilla Smith has been awarded to Professor Katie Hinde, School of Human Evolution and Social Change (and other university units) at Arizona State University. This award recognizes her outstanding public communication and educational outreach efforts in the field of biological anthropology, and is supported by a generous gift to the AABA from Camilla Smith (Leakey Foundation Trustee). Professor Hinde’s ability to generate interest in biological anthropology and related fields is remarkable, reflecting her expertise and breadth across numerous academic fields. Her nomination notes that: "All of Dr. Hinde’s work in science communication is a master class in how to talk to the public about science in a way that is engaging, fun, informative, and transformative…”