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Catherine J. Llera Martin, PhD

Catherine J. Llera Martin, PhD

Assistant Professor of Anatomy

College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific

clleramartin@westernu.edu

Phone: 909-706-3750

Join year: March 2023

  • Education

    PhD, Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 2023
    BA, Anthropology, summa cum laude, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2017
    BS, Biology, cum laude, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2017

  • Teaching Experience

    Laboratory Instructor, Scientific Foundations of Medicine: Human Anatomy, Johns Hopkins University, 2018-2021
    Laboratory Instructor, Introduction to the Human Body, Johns Hopkins University, 2018-2019

  • Courses

    ISAC, FOM 1, FOM 2, FOM 3, FOM 4

  • Research Interest

    Broadly, I am interested in 1) understanding how genetic and epigenetic factors (including mechanical loading) influence post-cranial bone morphology, and 2) leveraging these relationships to interpret skeletal variation, make phylogenetic inferences that shape current theories on primate evolution, and understand mechanisms of bone processes such as aging and disease. I use microCT scans, bone microstructural analyses, innovative shape quantification methods, and biomechanical analyses to provide insight into how behavioral and genetic factors affect bony morphology.

  • Research Grant

    National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship ($138,000), 2019
    National Science Foundation IRES Fellowship ($3000), 2016

  • Awards

    AAA-AABA Anatomy in Anthropology Student Presentation Award, 2022
    American Association for Anatomy Student Travel Award, 2020
    Langman Award Podium Presentation Finalist, 2019
    Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar, 2016

  • Organizations

    American Association for Anatomy
    American Association of Biological Anthropologists

  • Publications

    Publications

    • McGovern-Lind BR, Proffitt KA, King SEE, Rader HM, Violi DA, Llera Martin CJ, Searight K, Kehrer M, Yeropoli BA, Young JW, Vinyard CJ, DeLeon VB, Smith TD. . Am J Primatol. (2024) May 7:e23634. doi: 10.1002/ajp.23634. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38715226.
    • Llera Martín, C. J., & Ruff, C. B. (2023). Changes in diaphyseal cross-sectional properties with age in macaques. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 183(2), e24857.
    • Cerio, D. G., Llera Martín, C. J., Hogan, A. V. C., Balanoff, A. M., Watanabe, A., & Bever, G. S. (2023). . Journal of Morphology, 284(9), e21622.
    • Llera Martín, C. J., Rose, K. D., Sylvester, A.D. (2022). A morphometric analysis of Early Eocene Euprimate tarsals from Gujarat, India. Journal of Human Evolution, 164, 103141.
    • Smith, T. D., McMahon, M. J., Millen, M. E., Llera, C., Engel, S. M., Li, L., Bhatnagar, K., Burrows, A., Zumpano, M., DeLeon, V. B. (2017). Growth and development at the sphenoethmoidal junction in perinatal primates. The Anatomical Record, 300(12), 2115-2137.

    Abstracts

    • Mendoza M., Peterson, A., & Llera Martín, C. J.(2024). Exploring Plantaris Diversity: An Investigation into the Variability and Prevalence of the Plantaris Tendon in the Human Population. The FASEB Journal (Accepted).
    • Llera Martín, C. J., Uluutku, A., & Arney (2024). Movement in the Miocene: A SPHARM analysis of fossil catarrhine tali to infer locomotor behavior. American Journal of Physical Anthropology(Accepted).
    • Llera Martín, C. J., & Sims, Z.R. (2022). Humeral morphology and locomotion: Discerning functional signals using weighted spherical harmonics. American Journal of Physical Anthropology,177(S73), 108-108.
    • Sims, Z.R., & Llera Martín, C. J. (2022). Using weighted spherical harmonics to detect functional locomotor signals at the distal femoral articulation. American Journal of Physical Anthropology,177(S73), 169-169.
    • Llera, C. J., Rose, K. D., & Sylvester, A. D. (2020). Morphometric analysis of Eocene primate astragali from India. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 171(S69), 163-164.
    • Llera, C. J., Rose, K. D., & Sylvester, A. D. (2020). A Morphometric Analysis of Early Eocene Euprimate Calcanei from Gujarat, India. The FASEB Journal, 34(S1), 1–1.
    • Llera, C. J., & Bever, G. S. (2019). Evolutionary Ontogeny of the Avian Adductor Musculature-Endocranial Relationship: Evidence from the Chick. The FASEB Journal, 33(S1), 77.4-77.4. [Podium]
    • Llera, C., Benitez, L., Biernat, M., Braun, D., Hammond, A., Patterson, D., & Barr, W.A. (2017). Subregion scale heterogeneity in bovid abundance in the Koobi Fora Formation (Pleistocene, Northern Kenya). American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 162(S64), 265-265.