Assistant Professor, Biology
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, 2021
M.A., University of Massachusetts, 2016
M.A., Quinnipiac University, 2006
B.A., Saint Michael’s College, 2004
BIOL 101: Biology Seminar for Majors
BIOL 330-01: Journal Article Discussion
BIOL 342: Anatomy and Physiology I
BIOL343: Anatomy and Physiology II
BIOL 330: Journal Article Discussion
BIOL 440: Exercise Physiology
BIOL 484: Biomechanics
I am a biological anthropologist asking evolutionary questions about human physiology. Specifically I am interested in the role of sweating in human evolution; variation in sweat characteristics in contemporary human populations; and the evolution of human metabolism, including energetic limits to endurance performance. More information about my research projects can be found on my personal website.
(for a current list, see Google Scholar or my website)
Berger, N.J., Best, R., Best, A.W., Lane, A.M., Millet, G.Y., Barwood, M., Marcora, S., Wilson, P. and Bearden, S., 2023. Limits of Ultra: Towards an Interdisciplinary Understanding of Ultra-Endurance Running Performance. Sports Medicine, pp.1-21.
Best, A.W., McGrosky, A., Swanson, Z., Rimbach, R., McConaughy, K., McConaughy, J., Ocobock, C. and Pontzer, H., 2023. Total Energy Expenditure and Nutritional Intake in Continuous Multiday Ultramarathon Events. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 1(aop), pp.1-7.
Best, A. (2021). Why does strength training improve endurance performance? American Journal of Human Biology.
Dorshorst, T., Gold, C., & Best, A. (2021). The 90th annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 30(4), 230-232.
Best, A., Lieberman, D. E., & Kamilar, J. M. (2019). Diversity and evolution of human eccrine sweat gland density. Journal of Thermal Biology.
Best, A. and Kamilar, J.M. (2018). The evolution of eccrine sweat glands in human and nonhuman primates. Journal of Human Evolution, 117(4), 33- 43.
Best A, Holt B, Troy K, Hamill J (2017). Trabecular bone in the calcaneus of runners. PLoS ONE12(11): e0188200.
Best, A., & Braun, B. (2017). Using a novel data resource to explore heart rate during mountain and road running. Physiological Reports, 5(8), e13256.
Godfrey, L. R., Crowley, B. E., Muldoon, K. M., Kelley, E. A., King, S. J., Best, A. W. and Berthaume, M. A. (2016), What did Hadropithecus eat, and why should paleoanthropologists care? American Journal of Primatology, 78: 1098–1112. doi:10.1002/ajp.22506
