Kathleen Rust

Kathleen Rust is a 2019-2023 Self Graduate Fellow pursuing a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology. She received a B.A. (2012) with high honors in anthropology and German from the University of Texas at Austin. She earned an M.A. in anthropology (2018) from Hunter College City University of New York. Her master’s thesis work involved collecting data from fossils to investigate the phylogenetic affinities and origins of sivaladapids – an extinct group of adapiform primates. Her thesis research suggests a new possible evolutionary scenario for the origins and evolution of Sivaladapidae. During her graduate studies in New York City, Rust was recruited as a biological anthropology educator at the American Museum of Natural history (AMNH). Her role at the AMNH enabled her to share the science of the latest research in paelontology and communicate the importance of evolution and genomics with museum visitors of all ages. As a doctoral student, Rust continues to study adapiform systematics, and her dissertation research investigates the purported evolutionary trade-off between vision and olfaction in early primate evolution. By studying the fossils of primates and genomes of living mammals, her research explores modularity and morphological integration of the maxillofacial skeleton to test if changes in the facial anatomy reflect this trade-off between the visual and olfactory sensory systems in the fossil record of primates. In addition to research, Rust remains active in outreach and education for local audiences through the KU Museum of Natural History and Biodiversity Institute.

Mentor: K. Christopher Beard, Senior Curator- Biodiversity Institute, Distinguished Foundation Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology