Columbia, MO -- University of Missouri researcher Mark Flinn, professor of anthropology, has been awarded the distinction of American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow for his "theoretical contributions in the area of the evolution of human behavior, and for pioneering field research on stress response, family environment, and child health," according to the AAAS news release.
Election as a fellow of the AAAS is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science. New fellows will be honored at the 2013 AAAS annual meeting in Boston.
Flinn is known for his interdisciplinary work that integrates cultural anthropology, child development, and human biology. His research involves analysis of the hormonal and neurobiological mechanisms for stress response and family relationships and has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation. Flinn also has made major theoretical contributions to the understanding of the co-evolution of human intelligence, society, and culture.
Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Mich., Flinn received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Michigan and his doctorate from Northwestern University. His postdoctoral studies included three years in the Society of Fellows at the University of Michigan and a year at the Museum of Natural History. Flinn joined the faculty in the Department of Anthropology at MU in 1987, where he teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in biomedical anthropology. He has involved many successful graduate students in research on childhood stress and health at his research site in a rural community on the island of Dominica.
Flinn is president-elect of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. His other honors include receipt of a distinguished scientist award from the Center for the Study of the Family and selection as a fellow of the Human Biology Association.
Flinn is among 702 AAAS fellows elected this year, five of whom are from the University of Missouri.
AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. The organization was founded in 1848, and the tradition of electing fellows began in 1874.